


New Earth: Batwoman

by DarkShado



Series: New Earth [5]
Category: Batwoman (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 43,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29831613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShado/pseuds/DarkShado
Summary: My name is Kate Kane. This is not the story I thought I'd be telling. But after a crisis that resulted in the death of the multiverse, I woke up on a new earth to find that I've been given a second chance to fix my mistakes and pick up the legacy Batman left behind to protect my city of Gotham. I am the Paragon of courage and more importantly, I am Batwoman.
Relationships: Beth Kane | Alice & Kate Kane, Kate Kane/Sophie Moore, Luke Fox & Mary Hamilton & Kate Kane
Series: New Earth [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151108
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

Kate awoke after blacking out at the dawn of time to find she was back at her old training camp in Alaska.

"What am I doing back here?" Kate asked as her phone rang.

"Hello?" Kate asked.

"Kate, it's Mary, you know, your stepsister?" Mary asked and Kate was getting a strange sense of deja vu.

"Yeah Mary, I know, our parents have been married for years, but what's going on? Why am I back in Alaska?" Kate asked.

"What are you talking about, you're still on your training thing before becoming a crow." Mary said, confused and now Kate was even more confused.

"Never mind, what's going on?" Kate asked.

"Kate, there's been an incident. An attack at a ceremony here to turn off the bat light." Mary said, confusing Kate more and also increasing her sense of deja vu.

"What happened that required you to call me?" Kate asked.

"Kate, Sophie's been kidnapped." Mary said.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." Kate said as she hung up and turned around to find Mar Novu standing in front of her.

"I thought you were dead." Kate said.

"Everyone was dead Ms. Kane. Except you of course. But you and the other paragons succeeded in stopping the anti monitor and in the process, you created this new universe." Novu said.

"So, what I'm on a new earth?" Kate asked.

"That exists an earlier time period than your old one did, hence your feeling of deja vu. You and the other paragons have awoken in place of your counterparts on this earth. One of the many things that has changed is when your training took place. You are actually at the end of it and Bruce Wayne has already left Gotham." Novu said.

"Meaning it's time for Batwoman to pick up where he left off." Kate said as she began to understand.

"One more thing." Novu said as he waved his hand in front of Kate.

"What was that?" Kate asked as she quickly recovered from her headache.

"That was you receiving the memories of your counterpart from this world to help you better blend in, since you already drew some attention to yourself with that phone call to your stepsister." Novu said and Kate nodded.

"Great, so is there anything else I need to know?" Kate asked.

"No, you should be able to figure out everything else on your own." Novu said and Kate nodded as he disappeared and Kate began making plans for return to Gotham and her new debut as Batwoman.

Kate smiled slightly when she entered Crows HQ to find her father there, barking orders at his agents, all of them to find Sophie.

"Dad." Kate said, getting his attention.

"Kate, what a nice surprise." Jacob Kane said with a smile as they hugged.

"Mary called me, told me about Sophie." Kate said and Jacob chuckled.

"I should've known she'd tell you. And now you're here to get that job I promised." Jacob said.

"The job you were never going to give me and frankly, I don't want it anymore. I had a lot of time to think while I was training and I realized that I didn't want a job that would only help divide Gotham instead unifying it." Kate said, surprising her father with that answer.

"Meaning what?" Jacob asked.

"That Gotham is no better off because of the Crows, if anything, all you're doing is making things worse. You don't protect the people who actually need it. But you know who did." Kate said.

"Don't you dare say that name." Jacob said.

"Batman. I had a lot of time to think about him to and I realized that I was wrong. The accident wasn't his fault. He is not the one who drove mom's car off that bridge." Kate said.

"He brought out all the crazies in gotham, if it weren't for him, there wouldn't have been a Joker." Jacob said.

"Or maybe if it weren't for him the Joker would be the one running this city. Or the Penguin or any of the other bad guys he put away. And what about all the other people that he saved before he disappeared. Do they suddenly not matter simply because he couldn't save people that were important to you? Do the 24 kids he saved that day not matter? One mistake causes you to turn a blind eye to all the good he has done. And you call yourself a law enforcer. Got a funny way of showing it." Kate said spitefully.

"Who are you?" Jacob asked, barely recognizing his own daughter.

"Someone who's no longer letting decade old anger blind me anymore. Batman isn't the menace you think he is. But I only came here to let you know I was back in town." Kate said as she moved to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Jacob asked.

"To find Sophie. My way." Kate said as she walked out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

When Kate arrived at Wayne Tower, she just smiled when she found J'onn waiting for her.

"Not that it isn't good to see you, but I thought that National City was your stomping grounds with our mutual friend in blue." Kate said.

"It is, but right now, I'm going from city to city restoring the memories of our compatriots. Is there anyone here who fits that description?" J'onn asked.

"Only one person. Luke Fox. He was pretty much my only friend back on the old earth and I could use his help without having to beat him up to get it." Kate said and J'onn nodded as they walked inside.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" one of the security guards asked.

"Your new boss. My name is Kate Kane. Sound familiar, it should, considering my cousin Bruce put me in charge of this place before he left. You can check if you want." Kate said smugly.

"You'll understand if we have to detain you until we've verified your story miss." the guard said.

"It means you're doing your job right. Go ahead." Kate assured them.

After her claim was verified by the guards going through Bruce's affairs from before he left, Kate told them to have Luke Fox meet her in what was formerly Bruce's and now her office.

"So Ms. Kane, what did you want to see me about? And who's this?" Luke asked of J'onn.

"You'll know in a minute. J'onn, if you'll please?" Kate asked and J'onn nodded as he walked up to Luke and restored his memories.

"Whoa, that was a rush. How'd you do that?" Luke asked and Kate smiled.

"Because he's martian." Kate said and Luke had the expected reaction.

"Wait, you know a martian?" Luke asked and Kate smiled.

"Show him." Kate said and J'onn nodded as he shifted to his martian form.

"That's awesome." Luke said.

"Several people think so." Now if you'll excuse me, now that I've restored everyone's minds that need in this country. I need to go track down Sara Lance and give her some tech that will allow her to restore the minds of her crew." J'onn said.

"I'm sorry what?" Luke asked as J'onn walked out of the office.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, you need to turn the Batman suit back into the Batwoman suit so I can save Sophie from my demented sister." Kate said.

"How do you even know Alice is the one who kidnapped Sophie? Just because she did that in the old universe does not mean she's the one who did it in this one." Luke said.

"You mean you didn't see the video." Kate said as she pulled up Alice's declaration of terror, since Mary had sent it to her.

"Okay then. What are you gonna do to Alice when you find her? Last time you two locked horns, it didn't end well for anyone." Luke asked.

"Don't remind me. But last time, I was holding back on Alice since I had some faint hope that Beth is still in there somewhere." Kate said.

"And now?" Luke asked.

"She killed that hope when she killed Catherine and framed my dad for it. My priority tonight is getting Sophie to safety. But after that, when our paths cross again, I'm gonna beat her senseless and toss her Arkham where she belongs. Once the city is safe from her, then maybe we can try and get Beth out of whatever cage Alice has her locked in." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"You sure you can back up that talk? I mean, she is your sister." Luke said.

"I want to believe that my sister is alive somewhere inside that monster, I really do. But I can't let that belief compromise my ability to protect Gotham. Not now. Not ever again. I can't let innocent people suffer because I refused to act." Kate said.

"I'm not sure I'd call Catherine Hamilton innocent. She's just as responsible for creating Alice as Cartwright, Mouse, your dad and." Luke said, but stopped.

"And me. It's okay you can say it. I came to terms with my role in what Beth became during the crisis." Kate said.

"I just want to make sure, since Alice is not only crazy, but she also knows how to get in your head." Luke said.

"And I can get in her diseased head as much as she can get in mine." Kate said.

"Maybe, but let's just hope that you're able to keep her out of your head long enough to put her in Arkham." Luke said.

"I guess we'll find out." Kate said.

"Let's get downstairs so we can get to work." Luke said and Kate nodded as they headed towards the Batcave.


	3. Chapter 3

Jacob Kane had the crows on high alert, searching the city high and low for Sophie when one of his subordinates approached him.

"Commander, there's something on the news I think you should see." the agent said and Jacob nodded as he walked into the command center to find a message on the news with a familiar face.

"Hello Gotham. I hope that the commander of the crows is watching this message, since it does directly relate to a member of his flock." Alice said as two of her rabbits brought a tied up Sophie into view.

"Trace this." Jacob snapped.

"We're trying sir, but the signal's been bounced off numerous other servers, I'm not sure if we can complete the trace before she ends the message." the tech said.

"Do it anyways, at least we can get a radius to search." Jacob said.

"Yes sir." the crow said as they began the trace.

"Okay so, here's the deal. I have something the crows want and you Gotham, you're holding someone I want. Jonathan Cartwright is being held in Arkham Asylum right now. However, if Commander Kane is watching, he will not allow that injustice to continue for much longer. Otherwise, well, I hope he wasn't too attached to this pretty face." Alice said as she squeezed Sophie's face.

"Don't touch me. Commander, if you're watching, don't listen to her." Sophie shouted.

"Now, play nice little birdie. After all, you're not so tough without your gun. But anyways, Commander Kane, you have 24 hours to release Jonathan Cartwright into my custody. A prisoner exchange. You give me my Mouse, I'll give you your crow. Clock starts now." Alice said as the message cut out.

"Well?" Jacob asked.

"Sorry sir, we couldn't get a trace in time." the crow said.

"Then find out who the hell Jonathan Cartwright is. I want to know why this freakshow Alice wants him." Jacob said.

"Yes sir." The crows said as they got to work, both they and Alice unaware that a third party was also on the case.

"So, did you trace the signal?" Kate asked Luke.

"Alice's scrambling tech may have been good enough to beat the crows, but Bruce spent years and billions of dollars to develop technology that could overcome that particular barrier." Luke said.

"And he never sold it because?" Kate asked.

"He likes to hog the best toys for himself. You do realize that he could've sold the tech that the suit is made out of to the military and police right?" Luke asked and Kate chuckled.

"Bruce always said, the only person you can truly trust is yourself." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"Probably why he never told anyone why he left or where he was going." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"Remind me to kick his ass for that if he ever does work up the nerve to come back to Gotham." Kate said.

"No problem. Batwoman kicks Batman's ass. That would go viral on Youtube." Luke said and Kate chuckled.

"Of course it would. But anyways, back to the current problem?" Kate asked.

"Right, trace complete, she's holding Sophie in the same building she was last time." Luke said.

"Now you just need to fix my suit." Kate said.

"It should only take about an hour." Luke said.

"Get to work. So that I can." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"You know that my commander is never going to do what you ask right?" Sophie asked.

"Alice. Of course I do. At least, not until I show him the consequences of his defiance." Alice said.

"By killing me?" Sophie asked.

"Oh no, not you. You're trained for this, you'd gladly die to do your duty. But what about them?" Alice asked as she nodded down to the park next to the building where people were gathering for a movie in the park.

"Those are innocent people." Sophie asked.

"How else will Commander Kane get the message. If my mouse is not free by the end of my deadline, then he'll have the blood of Gotham's innocents on his hands." Alice said.

"Why not tell him that in your little message?" Sophie asked.

"Now where's the fun in spoiling that little surprise?" Alice asked.

"You really think that you'll pull that off?" Sophie asked.

"Please, the crows are a joke. Now if Batman were here, then I might be worried, since he'd provide both fun and a challenge." Alice said, right as a batarang flew through the air and embedded itself in the wall.

"What? No, he's dead." Alice said when she saw what it was.

"But I'm not." a new voice said and Alice turned to see Batwoman standing in front of her.

"Who are you?" Alice asked.

"I'm Batwoman. You're finished." Batwoman said.

"We'll see about that." Alice said as she pulled out her butterfly knives and charged Batwoman, who easily evaded her.

"How do you know my moves?" Alice asked.

"You mean how you strike randomly without any real skill, not hard to dodge." Batwoman taunted as she sent Alice flying back into a wall, knocking her out, allowing Batwoman to move over to where Sophie was being held and cut her free.

"Who are you?" Sophie asked as she rubbed feeling back into her wrist.

"A friend. And right now, your best chance of getting out of here alive." Batwoman said.

"This building is likely crawling with security. How do you suggest we get out?" Sophie asked.

"Like this." Batwoman said as she fired a grappling hook to a building next door.

"Really? You call this safe?" Sophie asked.

"Not enough bullets to take down all those guards. This is the fastest way out." Batwoman said.

"Fine." Sophie said angrily as she wrapped her arms around Batwoman's neck, Batwoman tried to avoid the shudder she felt at that as they swung out of the building and right over the people of Gotham, several of whom saw them and came to the same general assumption.

"Batman's back." A kid said as all eyes turned to where the Lady Crusader had landed.

"Well, it looks like you're a celebrity." Sophie said when they landed on the roof.

"You're welcome." Batwoman said.

"Thank you for the save." Sophie said.

"Let's try not to make a habit of it, since I doubt your boss would approve." Batwoman said and before Sophie could say anything else, she jumped off the rooftop and used her cape to sort of glide away.

"Have to admit, that is pretty cool." Sophie admitted with a smile, since she couldn't help but feel drawn to Batwoman for some reason, though she didn't know why, especially since there was still someone else who held that same special place in her heart.


	4. Chapter 4

"The Bat is back Gotham. Last night, several witnesses recounted seeing the caped crusader make his first appearance in Gotham in over 3 years. But now this reporter is left wondering why he came back now and perhaps even more importantly, why did he leave us in the first place." Kate and Luke listened to Vesper Fairchild say on the radio.

"When I find him, I intend to answer that question. Seriously, even in this new reality, you have no idea where Bruce is or why he left?" Kate asked Luke.

"No, it seems like the one thing Bruce Wayne has in common across realities is that he likes to keep things like that to himself. Only person I can think of who might know those answers is Alfred." Luke said.

"And chances are, wherever Bruce went, he took Alfred with him." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"Pretty much. We could see if Julia's been in touch with her father, but she's almost as hard to track down as Bruce." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"In the meantime, I think it's time I inform Gotham that their Bat is not what they think." Kate said.

"How are you planning on doing that?" Luke asked.

"Taking a page out of Oliver Queen's book." Kate said.

"Right, you are going to introduce me to the Green Arrow right?" Luke asked.

"And the Flash and Supergirl. Eventually." Kate promised.

"Great, but anyways, what did you mean?" Luke asked.

"You remember how Green Arrow made his debut in Star City? Right?" Kate asked and Luke quickly caught on.

"I'll get ready to broadcast." Luke said and Kate nodded as they got a call from the lobby.

"Excuse me Ms. Kane, you have a visitor." the secretary said.

"Who?" Kate asked.

"Sophie Moore. She says she knows you and she's also wearing a Crows jacket." the guy said and Luke and Kate exchanged looks.

"Head down to the Batcave and get started, I'll see what Sophie wants." Kate said and Luke nodded as he opened the door to the batcave before heading down there.

"Send her up." Kate said once the entrance to the bat cave closed.

A few minutes later, Kate heard the elevator open and Sophie walked into her office.

"Hey Kate." Sophie said awkwardly.

"I heard about what happened. Glad to see you're safe." Kate said.

"Thanks. Your dad told me you were back in town. I'm touched that you came back just because I was in trouble." Sophie said.

"Well, they say you never truly get over your first love. Even if they don't love you back." Kate said and Sophie sighed.

"Look Kate, I am sorry about what happened." Sophie began.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one who sold out my integrity to stay in a place that didn't even want me. But now I have to know. Was it worth it?" Kate asked.

"Excuse me?" Sophie asked, not completely understanding.

"Was graduating worth throwing away what we had. Or was it even real to you?" Kate asked, since she needed to know if this Sophie felt the same way the old one did.

"No. Everyday I wish I had your courage. I wish that I'd done exactly what we'd planned on doing. And yes, what we had was real to me. It was everything." Sophie said.

"And you threw it away for your career." Kate said.

"I know. If I could go back, do things differently, I would've left with you. But I can't." Sophie said and Kate nodded.

"Look Sophie, I still care about you, but I can't be with someone who feels like they have to hide me from the world." Kate said.

"I get it. And I wish I had your courage, I really do." Sophie said.

"You're a crow, having to report to my dad alone takes some serious guts." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"What I mean is that you have the courage to be out and not care about what that means. You don't care what other people think about you. That is something that I am still struggling with." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"It wasn't always easy, but then again, I've never been one to like taking the easy path. It's too boring. And Sophie, while I get that you aren't ready to come out yet or whatever, I know that someday, you will be and you'll be happier because of it. And while I can't tell you it will be easy, it will get easier and I will be there to help you when you're ready." Kate said.

"Okay, I have to admit, when I came over, I was half expecting you to tell me to go to hell." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"I've had five years to reflect and look back on things. Once I calmed down, I tried to look at things from your perspective and believe me I'm not happy about what you did, I can understand why you did it." Kate said.

"Wow, looks like that time away did you some good." Sophie said.

"My opinion on you isn't the only thing that's changed." Kate said.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked.

"I finally see Batman as the hero he was." Kate said.

"Okay, now I'm concerned. The Kate Kane I met at Point Rock hated Batman for what happened to your family on his watch." Sophie said.

"Like I said, I had a lot of time to think while I was away. And I realized that the crash wasn't Batman's fault. He didn't drive my mom's car off the ramp and he thought he'd saved her and Beth. Besides, he saved 2 dozen other kids, plus myself that day, so it's hard to be mad at him without seeming selfish." Kate said.

"Wow, that is a new way to look at things." Sophie said.

"I heard it was Batman who saved you last night." Kate said.

"It wasn't Batman. It was a woman." Sophie said.

"So Batwoman?" Kate asked.

"She saved my life." Sophie confirmed.

"And yet I'm guessing my dad wants to lock her up." Kate asked.

"Unlike you, his opinion of vigilantes, especially the Bat, hasn't changed." Sophie said.

"I know, I already hashed it out with him about that. But what do you think? And don't give me the Crows answer." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"Honestly, I don't know. While I believe in what the Crows stand for, I can't deny that Batman did a lot of good for the city before he vanished. I think it's too soon to tell if this Batwoman is the same. But saving me, it's a good start. Though she should come out of the shadows and make sure Gotham knows that she's not Batman." Sophie said.

"I'm sure she'll let them know when she's ready." Kate said.

"Anyways, thanks for the talk, but I'd better get back to work. I just wanted to say hi." Sophie said.

"Thanks. I'll see you around." Kate said and Sophie nodded as she walked out of the office.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, you ready to transmit?" Luke asked Kate as he got the camera ready in the Batcave.

"Ready when you are." Kate said as she made sure her mask and wig were straight.

"I honestly can't believe we didn't think of doing this the first time. Have you figured out what you're going to say?" Luke asked.

"I'll speak from the heart. Make sure Gotham knows that I'm not Batman, but I intend to carry on his mission." Kate said and Luke nodded as he finished hacking into the broadcast signals to make sure that this message was seen on every TV, computer, laptop, tablet and smartphone in Gotham.

"Okay then and we will be live in five, four, three, two, one." Luke said as he aimed the camera at Batwoman and pointed at her to start.

"What's going on?" Jacob Kane asked as he entered the command center of the Crows to find the office in turmoil.

"Sir, some unknown signal is taking over the airwaves." Sophie said, right as a familiar symbol popped up on the monitors.

"What the hell?" Jacob seethed.

"It looks like Batman is announcing his return." Sophie said, since the bat symbol was on screen, though now it was now in red.

Then the symbol changed to reveal the woman who'd saved Sophie the other night.

"Hello people of Gotham. I know you all think I'm Batman, but you're wrong. 3 years ago, he disappeared without a trace. And while the Crows do their best to protect us in his absence, it has become clear that they may not be enough against certain threats to our city. That is why as of now, I am pledging myself to pick up where Batman left off and help put our city back together. I am Batwoman." Batwoman said, right as the message cut out and the screens returned to normal.

"What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

"It looked like someone found Batman's old gear and is trying to pick up where he left off." Sophie said.

"Sir, there is a chance that this is just another faker who's trying to rile the city up." Another Crow, Williams, said.

"I don't think so. Considering they had the knowhow to hack into the airwaves of all of Gotham, I think that this one could be legitimate." Sophie said.

"Either way, we are not allowing this vigilante to run around Gotham, making people think that they can't trust actual law enforcement. We need to find this Batwoman and lock her up before Gotham starts shining that light again." Jacob said and Sophie had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at her boss's attitude.

"Yes sir." She said, despite her personal reservations about that.

"Okay people, let's get to work." Jacob said.

"Nice speech." Luke said as he ended the transmission.

"Please tell me you're going to put it on Youtube." Kate said.

"Of course. Who knows, maybe Bruce will see it." Luke said.

"Maybe. But anyways, now that this is done, I need to go do some desecration." Kate said as she moved to change out of her suit.

"You are way too casual in saying that." Luke pointed out.

"I need to make sure my dad knows the truth." Kate said.

"Well actually, before you do that, there's something else you need to see." Luke said.

"Okay, what?" Kate asked.

"I was going through records to see if there were any other distinguishable changes between this earth and the old one and I found this." Luke said as he pulled a newspaper clipping for Kate to read.

"Wait Luke, this says that they never found my mom's body either." Kate said.

"Yep and you can look through your double's memories to confirm it. I'll give you one guess as to what was used to determine that your mom died in the crash." Luke said.

"Bone fragments. Let me guess, in the same place they found the bone fragments that were thought to be Beth's?" Kate asked.

"Yep." Luke said.

"So, it looks like Oliver might've done me a favor when he rebooted the universe, since there's a chance my mom is still alive to." Kate said.

"Kate, you have to remember that even if your mom is still alive, there's no telling what kind of shape she's in. After all, what if she's like Alice?" Luke asked.

"Then I'll deal with it. But Luke, what if this was your dad we're talking about?" Kate asked and Luke sighed.

"That's a low blow Kate." Luke said.

"I know, but Luke I now have a chance to put my whole family back together. Even if it means I have to put at least one of them in Arkham. Wouldn't you do the same if it was yours?" Kate asked.

"I would and I wasn't telling you not to look into this, I just want to make sure that you're prepared to deal with who or whatever you find." Luke said.

"I appreciate that, but Luke, I will be fine. I just need answers." Kate said.

"Okay well, you get the bones, I will run the tests." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"Okay." Kate said, trying not to sound too hopeful at the prospect of getting her family back.


	6. Chapter 6

"Dad, we need to talk." Kate said the next morning when she entered the kitchen to find her father getting ready to go.

"Kate, can it wait, I need to get to work?" Jacob asked.

"Mom and Beth aren't dead." Kate said bluntly, causing him to turn to face her.

"What are you talking about Kate? That is not something to joke about." Jacob said angrily.

"And I'm not kidding. I found it a bit strange how the people who found those bone fragments happened to work for the same woman that you're now married to, so I had a friend at Wayne Enterprise examine the bone fragments and well, these were the results." Kate said as she handed the results to him.

"Wait, Kate, these results say that the fragments they recovered are from a deer." Jacob said in disbelief.

"I had my friend run it twice and confirmed it." Kate said.

"Kate, you know I'm going to need more proof than this." Jacob said.

"Then why don't you ask Catherine?" Kate asked as Catherine entered the room.

"Ask me what?" Catherine asked.

"To tell the truth about the bone fragments we found that we thought belonged to my mom and Beth." Kate said and she could tell that Catherine was nervous.

"What are you talking about?" Catherine asked and now Jacob could tell that his wife was nervous.

"Catherine, what is going on?" Jacob asked and Catherine could tell that she was not getting out of this.

"Fine, those bone fragments that my employees found, they were not from Gabi or Beth. They were from a deer some of my employees found." Catherine said.

"Why did the police and coroner claim that they were from Beth and Gabi?" Jacob asked, his voice dangerously still.

"I paid them to fake the results." Catherine said tearfully.

"Why would you do that?" Jacob demanded, refusing to even look her in the eyes and frankly, neither could Kate, since while she was relieved that Catherine was alive, the fact that she had not only kept her sister from her, but also her mom too overrode that relief with fresh anger.

"Do you remember what you and Kate were doing after the accident? You had the entire Crows force searching for Beth and Gabi, Kate wasn't going to school, the two of you were putting your whole lives on hold." Catherine said, trying desperately to get them to understand why she did what she did.

"Maybe that's because half of our family was missing and we didn't want to live our lives when we still didn't know what happened to theirs. You had no right to make that decision. Maybe if you hadn't, we could've found them. But instead, we gave up and who knows where my mom and sister are right now? Maybe they really are dead now because we didn't find them in time to save them. And that's on you." Kate said angrily.

"Please, try to understand." Catherine begged.

"I think I'm gonna stay in a hotel tonight." Kate said as she turned to head back upstairs to start packing.

"You can expect to receive divorce papers by the end of the week." Jacob said as he walked out of the apartment, intent on just hiring some people to move his stuff out of the penthouse, since he couldn't even stand to be anywhere near Catherine right now.

Later on that week, Kate finally found time to talk to Mary.

"Kate, I've been trying to get a hold of you. What's this I hear about our parents getting divorced?" Mary asked, shocking Kate.

"You don't know?" Kate asked.

"No, I mean, you're staying in a hotel and so is your dad and my mom won't tell me anything." Mary said and Kate sighed.

"You might want to sit down for this." Kate said and Mary nodded as she did.

"Look Mary, we recently discovered that the bone fragments that were used to identify my mom and Beth's bodies actually belonged to deer." Kate said.

"Wait, what? How is that possible. There are so many differences, how could the coroner's office make that mistake?" Mary asked.

"Because your mom paid them to." Kate said regretfully.

"What? Kate, that's not funny." Mary said.

"I'm sorry Mary, but it's true. Your mom confessed to my dad and I. I would've told you sooner, but my dad and I have been busy trying to figure out where my mom and Beth are now." Kate said.

"So, do you hate me now?" Mary asked and Kate was shocked that she'd think that.

"Of course not and neither does my dad. You had nothing to do with your mom's decision and honestly, you will always be my sister." Kate assured her.

"I don't know what to say." Mary said and Kate could tell that the floodgates were opening and she simply pulled Mary into a hug as she felt her sister begin to weep into her shoulder and Kate just did her best to rub comforting circles.


	7. Chapter 7

Kate was currently sitting at her desk at Wayne Tower, working on her plans to turn it into a real estate firm and also trying to comprehend the fact that not only was her sister still alive, but her mom was too. And she swore she'd do anything she had to in order to make sure that while she'd be locking Alice up in Arkham for the rest of her life most likely, but more importantly, she was going to get her mother back. She knew that Alice was beyond redemption right now, but maybe if she could save her mom, then they and her father could bring Alice back from the brink of insanity. But either way, she was going to put her family back together.

However, she was driven from her thoughts when she heard the elevator open and saw Sophie enter her office.

"Do I want to know how you got past security?" Kate asked.

"Turns out flashing a crows badge makes it easier to get past security." Sophie said and Kate sighed.

"So what brings you here?" Kate asked.

"Your dad has practically barricaded himself in his office and has pretty much left the day to day operations of the Crows to me. Every time I try to question him about it, he just says it's a personal matter and while I respect that, if I feel like if whatever is going on is going to distract him from his duties and inadvertently put my fellow crows and I in danger, then I'm going to need some answers." Sophie said and Kate nodded.

"We recently discovered that the bone fragments that we thought belonged to my mom and sister actually belonged to deer." Kate said.

"Wow, no wonder he's so distracted." Sophie said.

"And that's not the end of it." Kate said.

"Okay, what is it?" Sophie asked.

"It turns out the reason the coroner's office misidentified animal bones for human ones is because they were paid to. By my now ex-stepmom." Kate said and Sophie did a double take.

"Wait, Catherine Hamilton paid the coroner's office and the police and everyone else to make us think that your mom and sister were dead?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, my dad and I both moved out and honestly, I'm pretty sure Mary is considering it too, since she was just as disgusted at what her mother had done as my dad and I are." Kate said.

"You realize that Catherine broke the law right? I mean, she's committed both corruption and conspiracy." Sophie said.

"Because of how much corruption that exists in the GCPD. She used it to her advantage once, who's to say she won't do it again." Kate said and Sophie nodded.

"I'll talk to your dad, see if maybe the Crows can start looking into that. I'm pretty sure half the reason Batman existed was because of the corruption in the GCPD." Sophie said.

"Probably." Kate said, even though she knew the real reason her cousin became Batman, it's not like she could Sophie that.

"So anyways, what exactly are you planning on doing here now that you're back? I know that your cousin Bruce left you in charge of his properties here in Gotham after he left, any idea why he chose you for that by the way?" Sophie asked and Kate sighed.

"I guess he thought I was the best person for the job. And I'm gonna prove him right." Kate said.

"Meaning what?" Sophie asked.

"This company meant everything to Bruce and to my Uncle Thomas and practically every other Wayne since it was founded. And I'm going to rebuild it." Kate said.

"What, how, no offense, but you don't exactly have the background to rebuild a company like this." Sophie said.

"More than you'd think. Before I went to Point Rock, I spent a lot of time here, I even interned here directly under Bruce in high school. Honestly, I think he was kind of grooming me to take over, since while I may not have worked here, I know enough about this company to get it back on its feet. Especially with a new subsidiary in real estate I'm planning on opening." Kate said.

"Really, why real estate?" Sophie asked.

"To help build up the rundown buildings outside of the Crow's districts and provide the working class of Gotham with affordable housing." Kate said.

"Wow, you really have changed." Sophie said.

"You have no idea." Kate said as Luke entered the office.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Kate, there's been a break-in at a Wayne R&D site." Luke said.

"Duty calls." Kate said.

"Thanks for the talk Kate." Sophie said.

"Any time. Just call next time." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"You got it. I'll show myself out." Sophie said as she walked towards the elevator.


	8. Chapter 8

When Kate and Luke entered the Wayne R&D Vault, they found it was the same vault that had been hit before.

"Tommy again." Kate said as she and Luke walked through the vault.

"Looks like it." Luke agreed.

"Once you determine if he took the same thing as last time, I want you to do a full inventory of all the Bat tech in this building and have it discreetly relocated." Kate said and Luke knew exactly where she wanted it relocated to.

"On it. Think you should go pay Tommy a little visit?" Luke asked.

"Not yet. We don't have any proof and Batwoman can't start attacking private citizens. Especially since we could end up being wrong about both what was taken and who took it. But please tell me that Bruce actually did put a tracker in that gun?" Kate asked.

"None of this tech does. Bruce was always paranoid that someone might use it to locate the Batcave." Luke said.

"Of course he did. Once this tech is secure, correct that oversight." Kate said.

"On it." Luke said as Jacob walked up to them.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Kate asked.

"I took a personal interest in this. I'm not losing you too." Jacob said.

"Dad, I wasn't even here when it happened. It was just a B&E and clear proof that one of my first orders of business for rebuilding Wayne Enterprises is to upgrade security." Kate said.

"Do you know what was stolen?" Jacob asked.

"Not yet. But there is a lot of valuable, high tech weaponry in this vault. We're planning on moving the most sensitive tech to another facility. One who's location I cannot disclose. Even to the head of the crows." Kate said and Jacob nodded.

"Relax, I have no interest in taking control of your affairs." Jacob assured her.

"Actually, there is something I could use your help with." Kate said.

"What?" Jacob asked.

"Training Wayne security force. I'll have Luke Fox work on upgrading the security system, but I wouldn't mind if the Crows trained my security guards so that these sort of break ins don't become routine." Kate said and Jacob smiled.

"I'll see if any members of the Crows are interested in some extra pay for that." Jacob said and Kate nodded.

"Great. Now we are still doing inventory of what was taken, but once we figure that out, I will let you know." Kate said and Jacob nodded.

"Copy that. Let me know if you need any help." Jacob said and Kate nodded.

"Will do." Kate said as Jacob left.

"So, you want your dad to retrain Wayne Security?" Luke asked.

"If I'm going to reboot this company, then I need to make sure that it's security can actually protect our assets, since I'm a bit busy protecting the city." Kate said.

"Fair enough. And speaking of, while you were talking to your dad, I finished doing an inventory of this place and confirmed that the railgun is missing." Luke said.

"I still don't know what Bruce was thinking storing something like that outside the Bat cave. It's too risky." Kate said.

"Only person who truly knows and understands what goes on in Bruce's head is Bruce and honestly, there are times I'm not even sure he understood what went on in his head." Luke said.

"Fair point. I gave up trying to understand Bruce years ago." Kate said.

"Smart move. But anyways, now are you going to go kick Tommy's ass?" Luke asked.

"First, I'm going in as Kate Kane to confirm that he has the gun. Once I do that, then I'll put him in Arkham where he belongs. In the meantime, why don't you do some digging, see if you can find any incriminating evidence in his computers. We both know Tommy's one of those cocky assholes who thinks he's too clever to get caught. Which means he's bound to have proof on his computers." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"Luckily we have plenty of gadgets for that." Luke said and Kate smiled.

"It is going to be so satisfying to put him behind bars again." Kate said.

"I bet." Luke agreed.

When Kate returned to her office, she found that she didn't even need to go to Tommy Elliot, since he'd come to her.

"I think you're trespassing." Kate said.

"Oh come on Candy Kane." Tommy said.

"Tommy, next time call first." Kate said.

"Whoa, what's got you so worked up?" Tommy asked and Kate had to stop herself from saying you.

"Dealing with a breakin at Wayne R&D. Someone stole a specialized firearm." Kate said.

"Really. That sucks." Tommy said.

"Yeah, well, what sucks even more is that all firearms produced by Wayne R&D have embedded trackers in them. So it's only a matter of time until the thief has Wayne Security, GCPD and the Crows." Kate said, knowing that Tommy wouldn't know she was lying.

"Really. Well then, I'm sure it will turn up." Tommy said.

"So anyways, what brought you here?" Kate asked.

"I just came to invite you to this bash I'm holding tomorrow night to celebrate my finally becoming richer than Bruce Wayne." Tommy said and Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes, since Tommy's wealth was about to come to an end.

"I'll be there." Kate promised, since she would be there to take him down as he walked out of her office, but not before she clapped his shoulder to say goodbye.

"Wow, I'd actually forgotten how much of an ass he is." Kate said as Luke entered her office.

"Well, the bug is in place. As soon as he gets back to his office, I can use it to access his files and security system." Luke said.

"Good. By the time I get to Tommy's party, we should have everything we need to take him down." Kate said and Luke nodded.


	9. Chapter 9

The following night, Kate entered the elevator at Tommy's new property to take up to his party so she could kick his ass when she heard a voice that was surprisingly familiar to her call out behind her.

"Hey Kate, can you hold that elevator?" Helena Bertinelli asked as she approached her.

Kate did a quick scan through her counterpart's memories to find out she knew Helena Bertinelli and she was surprised by what she'd found. Apparently in this universe, Helena had been adopted by Bruce when she was young and apparently Batman had once had a female sidekick called the Huntress. Things were slowly starting to fall into place.

"Helena Wayne. What brings you back to Gotham?" Kate asked, making a mental note to call Oliver and let him know that his ex was in Gotham, though it seemed like Helena was a much more stable individual than the person she'd heard about from the old universe.

"Oh you know, Europe got boring and I got homesick." Helena said.

"And you decided to check out Tommy Elliot's party your first night back?" Kate asked.

"What better way to see what passes for fun in Gotham City than here?" Helena said.

"Fair point." Kate said.

"So what brings you back? Last I heard you were traveling the world on some kind of ninja retreat." Helena said.

"How'd you hear about that?" Kate asked.

"I kept in touch with my dad while I was gone." Helena said and Kate knew she was talking about Bruce, not Frank Bertinelli.

"Anyways, to answer your question, Sophie was kidnapped." Kate said and Helena smiled.

"When are you guys gonna get back together. I was shipping you so hard." Helena said.

"Grow up will you." Kate said as she playfully smacked her adoptive cousin.

"I will if you will." Helena said with a smile, which Kate shared as the elevator opened to reveal the party in full swing.

"Good, what an asshole." Kate said.

"I forgot how much I despise him. I never understood why exactly dad was such good friends with him." Helena said as Tommy approached them.

"Helena Wayne. What a nice surprise." Tommy said as Helena flashed him a fake smile before hugging him.

"Hey Tommy. I hope you don't mind me party crashing." Helena said.

"Of my course my BFF's daughter is welcome here. You wouldn't happen to know where Bruce is, do you?" Tommy asked.

"If I knew I'd be there right now to drag his ass back to Gotham." Helena said and Kate chuckled, since it sounded like she and Helena had a lot in common.

"So anyways, Kate, have you guys tracked down that firearm you told me about?" Tommy asked, getting Helena's attention.

"What firearm?" Helena asked.

"A specialized railgun was stolen yesterday from Wayne R&D. The thief was smarter than we gave them credit for, since they managed to disable the GPS tracker on it, but fortunately, Luke Fox is already working on exploiting a glitch in the system." Kate said.

"Would you excuse us for a minute Tommy?" Helena asked.

"Yeah sure. I'd better go see the needs of the rest of my guests anyways." Tommy said as he walked away and Helena pulled Kate aside.

"Kate, please tell me you know where that gun is." Helena said and Kate was beginning to realize why she was so concerned.

"Yeah, I do. But why do you care so much?" Kate asked.

"I just do." Helena said.

"Really, does it have anything to do with what's hiding under Wayne Tower?" Kate asked with a smirk when she saw Helena's eyes widen.

"What are you talking about?" Helena asked and Kate rolled her eyes, since if she didn't know already, Helena would've fooled her, but since she did, she could see right through Helena's lie.

"I found it my first day back and I've actually been picking up where Bruce left off. After all, a woman can do anything a man can do." Kate said and now Helena caught on.

"You're Batwoman." Helena said.

"Yep. I know that Bruce is Batman and I'm guessing you do too?" Kate asked and Helena sighed in relief.

"Yeah, I'm actually the Huntress." Helena said and Kate rolled her eyes.

"I guess it makes sense that Batman's sidekick was actually his daughter. We can bring each other up to speed later, but since we both know who Bruce is, I'm betting you know the significance of the stolen weapon." Kate said.

"Yep. My dad created it in case the batsuit fell into the wrong hands and whoever has it can kill you." Helena said.

"I know, Luke Fox brought me up to speed on that. And we've already figured out who has the gun now." Kate said.

"Who?" Helena asked.

"I'll give you a hint. We just talked to him." Kate said.

"Wait, Tommy? He's a douchebag, considering that Bruce saved his mother, I can't believe he'd want to do that." Helena said.

"Whole reason I came to the party was to recover the gun before I kicked Tommy's ass." Kate said.

"Want a hand? I've been wanting to kick Tommy's ass for years." Helena said and Kate smiled.

"I'm not sure if a rich douchebag like Tommy Elliot warrants backup." Kate said.

"He might not, but something tells me that his security will." Helena said, since this place was swarmed by Crows.

"Fair point. Let's get to work." Kate said and Helena nodded as they headed back into the party.

Jacob Kane was surprised when he not only saw his daughter enter the party, but also Bruce Wayne's adopted kid.

"Helena Wayne. It's been ages." Jacob said with a smile as he walked over to them.

"Jacob Kane. Yeah, sorry I haven't been around sooner, but my dad told me about Gabi and Beth. I'm so sorry." Helena said.

"You haven't told her yet?" Jacob asked Kate.

"I literally did not know she was back in town until she got in the elevator with me." Kate said.

"Tell me what?" Helena asked.

"Gabi and Beth did not die in the car crash. It turns out that the police and the coroner's office were paid to say that the bones found were from them, but actually, they come from a deer." Jacob said.

"Wait what? Do you know who paid them to do it?" Helena asked.

"Yeah, my now ex stepmom, Catherine Hamilton." Kate said and Helena looked shocked.

"Wow. That's a lot to take in." Helena said.

"Tell me about it." Kate said, right as Jacob's phone rang.

"I need to take this." Jacob said as he left the girls alone and answered the call.

"Talk to me." Jacob said.

"Hello Commander Kane." Alice said on the other end of the call.

"How the hell did you get this number?" Jacob demanded.

"You should really put better encryption on your lackey's phones. Have to admit, I was surprised you'd moved out of the penthouse so soon. I thought I'd have to be the one to break up your marriage. But I guess my sister did that for me." Alice said.

"What are you talking about?" Jacob demanded.

"Kate of course. Come on Commander, you're a smart man, you should be able to put the pieces together once they're laid out in front of you. But then again, considering how quickly you forgot your wife and daughter before, I shouldn't be surprised." Alice said and Jacob growled.

"Where are my wife and daughter?" Jacob asked.

"Which ones? Are you talking about me and mom, or the women you and Kate replaced us with." Alice said.

"You're not Beth. Now tell me what you know about her and my wife." Jacob demanded.

"I am your daughter Commander. As for Gabi Kane, well, you'll find out soon enough, since after all, I need to make sure you don't forget about us. Not again." Alice said as she hung up before Jacob could respond, leaving him shocked at the call he'd just heard.


	10. Chapter 10

Kate and Helena searched the penthouse until they finally found Tommy in a sideroom and sure enough, he was holding the stolen railgun.

"That doesn't belong to you." Kate said.

"You shouldn't be here. The party's out there." Tommy said.

"We're much more interested in what's going on here. Particularly how you're holding stolen property that belongs to my dad." Helena said.

"He's not your father. Bruce Wayne only took you in because he felt bad for you. You're not a real Wayne. You'll always just be a Bertinelli." Tommy sneered, only to have Helena move forward to smack him, only to have Kate block her as Tommy held up the gun.

"I wouldn't do that. Little Huntress." Tommy said.

"How do you know that and who my dad is?" Helena snarled.

"Oh, because a few months ago I hired a man to riddle me the answer. Though honestly, I just wanted to know who Batman is. But once I found that out, it wasn't hard to put it together that you're his little sidekick." Tommy said.

"He's your best friend." Kate reminded him, though she knew it was pointless.

"Yeah he was, the bestest. Nothing could ever be average with Bruce, he even had to have more dead parents than me." Tommy said.

"How dare you be jealous of that. Bruce was never trying to outdo you. He saved your mom's life." Helena said.

"Yeah, and instead of claiming my inheritance, I was forced to wait 13 years for her to finally die. He is a monster who left me shackled to a repulsive gold digging bitch." Tommy said.

"If you wanted to kill him, then why wait until he's wearing a bulletproof suit?" Helena asked.

"Because Bruce didn't ruin my life. Batman did. And while this little copycat Batwoman may have come in his place, I'm positive that she can draw Bruce back to town. And if she can't, well then, I'm sure his daughter can." Tommy said.

"Go to hell." Helena sneered at him.

"Careful. Do you really think that I wouldn't be prepared for this?" Tommy said as he held out his phone to reveal security camera footage of the elevators.

"What is that?" Kate asked.

"Incentive. You have one hour to give me Batman." Tommy said.

"Tommy, that's not enough time." Kate said.

"Wrong answer. And here's a little preview of what will happen if you fail to meet my deadline." Tommy said as he pressed a button on his phone and they heard an explosion before seeing one of the elevators plummet down.

"No." Kate said.

"One hour to bring me Batman. Fail and the next elevator I drop will have people this city will actually care about." Tommy said, since the first elevator was only filled with servers and bus boys and girls.

"Okay, we'll find a way." Helena agreed.

"Good. Now get moving." Tommy said and both Kate and Helena knew that they couldn't do anything but obey Tommy right now as long as he had both the gun and the elevators rigged.

"Let's go." Kate said and Helena nodded as they both left the building.

"So, you still suiting up?" Kate asked as they took the elevator down to the Batcave.

"Yep. This is a two person job. One to deal with Tommy and the other to save the hostages he'll no doubt drop when he sees that Batman did not come." Helena said and Kate nodded as the elevator opened and they entered the Batcave to find Luke waiting.

"Helena." Luke said.

"Luke, it's good to see you again." Helena said.

"Glad to see you're back in town and I'm guessing that you're here to help Kate?" Luke asked.

"Correct." Helena said.

"I'm guessing that the bag I found on Kate's desk while you guys were at the party contained your suit?" Luke asked.

"Yep. I had a feeling that I'd be coming back here, so I just sent my suit ahead. Where is it?" Helena asked as Luke tossed her the bag.

"Okay then. Let's suit up." Kate said as they both moved to suit up.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, what's the plan? I didn't think Tommy Elliot was someone who required both Batwoman and the Huntress?" Luke asked as Kate and Helena, both of them suited up, minus the masks right now, returned to the main hub.

"He doesn't. But he's got the other elevators rigged to fall and kill the people in them, so while Batwoman deals with the crazy bastard, I'm going to be evacuating the remaining elevators so that way if Tommy does drop them, he'll just be dropping a bunch of empty boxes." Helena explained.

"Still, just in case that doesn't work, you should use this." Luke said as he handed Helena a device.

"What is this?" Helena asked.

"It's an electronic scrambler. If you place this in the control room, it will allow me to take control of the elevators away from Tommy so that I can just put them on the ground floor and take away his leverage." Luke said and Helena nodded.

"Got it. But what are the odds

"Got it. I've charged the gauntlet my dad created to disable the gun, just don't activate it until you see him with it." Luke said.

"I know. But aside from this railgun, I want to know if these suits have any other weaknesses, since I'm assuming that your suit is made from the same material as mine?" Kate asked Helena.

"Yep, only the best for his daughter after all." Helena said and Kate rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised he didn't give you a signal light." Kate said and Helena shrugged.

"Batman came before the Huntress. Anyways, let's get to work." Helena said and Kate nodded as they both put on their masks and headed out.

Tommy was pacing on the roof of his building, wondering if Bruce Wayne would finally return to Gotham when a batarang struck his hand.

He turned around, expecting to see Batman, to his disappointment, it was only Batwoman.

"I don't think you understand how this works. I asked for your big brother. Not you." Tommy said.

"And even if he were here, he wouldn't be wasting his time with you." Batwoman said.

"Well then, I guess that you've left me no choice." Tommy said as he pulled out his phone, only to have Batwoman pull out another Batarang.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Those elevators, they're on a dead man switch. If I drop this phone, the elevators drop with it." Tommy said.

"Can you confirm?" Batwoman asked her comms.

"Thanks to the teched out lenses in your mask, yeah. I'm scanning the phone and it looks like Tommy is slightly smarter than he looks. That's a dead man's switch. We can't risk triggering it until I've taken control of the elevators away from him." Luke said over the comms.

"Huntress, what's your status?" Batwoman asked.

"I've planted the hacker, I'm heading to free the hostages now." Huntress said.

"Hurry up. I'm not sure how long I can distract this guy for." Batwoman said.

"Fox, what happens if Batwoman retrieves the phone?" Huntress asked.

"That might work. Tommy likely would not have been smart enough to rig the dead man's switch so that it goes off if it ever leaves his hand. It'll likely only go off if it hits the ground." Luke said.

"I'm on it." Batwoman said.

"Oh, were you just talking to Helena. Her suiting up was not smart." Tommy said.

"And why the hell is that?" Kate asked.

"Because if she doesn't back off, the whole world will learn the Huntress's secret identity." Tommy said.

"What are you talking about?" Batwoman asked.

"I've set up an insurance policy. If I'm not able to make a call to stop it, then one of my associates will use a private uplink that will broadcast her identity to all of Gotham and then it will only be a short leap for people to realize who Batman is." Tommy said.

"You're bluffing, you're not smart enough to do that." Batwoman said.

"Do you really want to take that chance?" Tommy asked and Batwoman took a deep breath.

"Huntress, stand down. We can't risk him exposing you and possibly Batman." Batwoman said.

"He can't." Huntress said.

"What do you mean?" Batwoman asked.

"I made some calls to a contact on the way to the Batcave. Every bit of evidence Tommy has that I'm the Huntress on a digital forum has been deleted. In fact, what was left could be seen as Tommy stalking me." Huntress said and Batwoman grinned.

"You've got nothing on any of us." Batwoman said with a grin to Tommy.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Your evidence is gone." Batwoman said.

"And now so is the Bat." Tommy said as he pulled out the railgun and aimed it at her, only for Batwoman to quickly activate the gauntlet and send the gun flying out of his hand then she quickly moved to grab the phone from Tommy and hit the disarm button on the phone.

"Well?" Luke asked.

"Bombs are disarmed." Batwoman said.

"Good because the Crows and GCPD are on their way. You guys should make yourself scarce since Jacob Kane hates you." Luke said.

"Copy that. Get those elevators back on the ground floor to be safe." Batwoman said.

"I'm on it." Luke said as Batwoman proceeded to tie Tommy up for the authorities to find, along with the phone, then used a grappling hook to swing out as Huntress also took her leave from the scene.

From a distance, Alice smiled as she watched what was unfolding, since these events had just confirmed her suspicions.

"Well, well, well. It appears that I am not the only one doing something daddy dearest does not approve of." Alice said, seemingly to herself.

"What was the point of that Alice. All you did was get Tommy Elliot arrested." Dodgeson asked her.

"Because ever since she appeared, I have had my suspicions on Batwoman's identity and this incident has simply confirmed it, along with getting rid of a major threat to her." Alice said.

"Why do you care about that?" Dodgeson asked.

"Because no one gets to kill my sister besides me." Alice said.

"Wait, are you saying?" Dodgeson asked.

"Oh yes my sweet Dodgeson. Batwoman is none other than my sister, Kate Kane." Alice said with a wicked grin, thinking that this was going to be even more fun than she'd thought.


	12. Chapter 12

"To our first takedown as a team." Luke said as he poured champagne for himself, Kate and Helena in the Batcave after watching the news about Tommy Elliot being taken down by Batwoman and the return of the Huntress to Gotham.

"And hopefully not our last." Kate said, much to Luke's surprise.

"Don't worry, I'm planning on sticking around for awhile." Helena said.

"So, does that mean that you accomplished what you left Gotham to do?" Luke asked.

"Not exactly. More like that business is what brought me home." Helena said.

"Meaning?" Kate asked, since she knew she was still missing something.

"I've been hunting my father. And not Bruce Wayne. My birth father, Frank Bertinelli." Helena said.

"Why would you do that? Helena, that bastard abandoned you when you were 3. Why would you want anything to do with him?" Kate asked.

"He came back into my life shortly after you left for your training. I thought he genuinely wanted to reconnect with me, but it turns out that he was only interested in me because I'd been adopted by Bruce Wayne. He was hoping that I could help his business. Then I discovered that his business is just a cover for being a mob boss. It turns out my mother put me up for adoption to protect me from the pain she was certain he'd bring into my life. And then I found out that he's the reason my mother is dead." Helena said.

"Wait, your dad killed your mom?" Kate asked.

"More like she was caught in the crossfire between him and another gang. But either way, ever since I found out the truth about him, I've devoted my life to taking down him and his entire organization." Helena said.

"And you've been hunting him ever since." Luke said and Helena nodded.

"I recently got word that he'd come back to Gotham, so I followed." Helena said.

"Helena, I'll help you take down your father, since Gotham has enough problems without him bringing in more. But we're not killing him. After all, your real father lived by a code." Kate said.

"So you don't know then?" Helena said.

"No what?" Kate asked.

"The reason my dad left Gotham is because he broke his code." Helena said.

"Bruce killed someone?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, he did. The only people who knew were the ones he considered family, meaning myself and Alfred. That's why he left. He couldn't figure out how to live with himself or be Batman knowing what he'd done." Helena said.

"Who'd he kill?" Luke asked.

"Haven't you wondered why no one's heard a peep out of the Joker in the same amount of time Batman's been gone?" Helena asked and they put it together.

"Bruce killed the Joker?" Kate asked, having mixed feelings about that. On the one hand, Bruce had killed someone, but on the other, the Joker was the reason Beth was Alice and her mom was MIA.

"Honestly, I wasn't that surprised when he told me. The Joker was always the one bad guy Bruce could never truly beat. Every time he put him in prison, the Joker always got out. They'd been fighting for years and I think that deep down, Bruce always knew that his war with Jack Napier wouldn't end until one of them was dead. And in their last fight, that's what happened. Napier finally pushed Bruce too far and he killed him." Helena said.

"Now it makes sense why Bruce left." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"But Helena, we can't kill your father, no matter how much he deserves it." Kate said.

"I know and I'm not going to kill him. But I am going to burn his entire empire to the ground before I put him behind bars." Helena said.

"And I'll help you, as long as you help me put Alice in Arkham." Kate said, deciding not to mention that Alice was her sister, since right now, she had no proof of that.

"Deal." Helena said as they shook hands.

"Now, I need to make a phone call." Kate said as she walked towards a sideroom as she pulled out her phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" Oliver Queen's voice said on the end of the call.

"Hey, it's Kate Kane." Kate said.

"Kate, I have to admit, I was not expecting to hear from you. I was under the impression you didn't like me that much." Oliver said.

"I'm calling to let you know that one of the changes in this reality has caused one of your old problems to enter my city." Kate said.

"Which one?" Oliver asked.

"The Huntress. But I have to admit, Helena is different then I heard she was in the old reality." Kate said.

"Different how?" She could hear Oliver's anxious voice, not that she could blame him.

"She's not the psychopath she used to be. Though I'm accounting that to the fact that she wasn't raised by a mob boss on this earth." Kate said.

"Really." Oliver said.

"Yeah, instead, Helena was put up for adoption when she was a baby by her mom and she was adopted by none other than Bruce Wayne. She's a real hero now." Kate said.

"I always knew that deep down, there was some good in Helena. It's nice to know I was right. Keep an eye on her, but if she starts stirring up trouble, let me know if you need any help taking her down." Oliver said.

"I'll keep that in mind, but I don't see that being an issue." Kate said with a smile as she hung up and went back to talk to her team. She had to admit, aside from Luke, she'd never really seen the purpose of having a team or understood why Kara, Barry and Oliver had them, she thought it would just slow her down, but now she was seeing the advantages. Having someone in the field to actually watch her back was nice and it came in handy. Maybe there was something to this whole team thing after all.


	13. Chapter 13

"Why exactly are you looking into the cases of Judge Calverick?" Helena asked Luke as she entered the Batcave the following morning.

"Because something seems a bit off about a lot of these cases." Luke said as he hated himself for doing this, but he knew he had to, since the more he looked into it, the more he realized that Kate had been right. There were too many similarities in these cases to just be accidents or coincidences. Now he was thinking that maybe the guy who had killed his dad had been framed.

"What do you mean?" Helena asked.

"Take a look at this list of criminals and tell me if anything about it stands out to you." Luke said and Helena nodded as she began looking through the files and she began to see the same thing Luke was.

"You're right. Not only are all these guys of the similar group. Black, hispanic, latino, even muslim and poor, but their stories line up almost completely. The only changes in them are the weapons mentioned in each case." Helena said.

"Yep. And not only that, notice the other names besides Calverick's." Luke said.

"Detective Stu Donnelly and Prosecutor." Helena said as she looked up at Luke.

"Prosecutor Angus Stanton. The same guy who claimed to have put the man who killed my dad away." Luke said.

"You know after your dad was murdered, my dad wasted no expense in searching for the person responsible. Even after Reggie Harris was convicted, it took me and Alfred to convince him that justice had been served and get him to stop searching for leads that weren't there. And it turns out this whole time, an innocent man could be suffering for something he didn't do and the person who really did it is still at large." Helena said.

"Hey, don't feel bad yet. We still don't know which cases were fudged." Luke said.

"I'm just curious, have you shown Kate any of this?" Helena asked.

"Her dad wanted to see her about something. I think it has to do with Alice." Luke said.

"Who's Alice?" Helena asked.

"Right, you've only been back a day. Alice is Gotham's newest psychopath, but honestly, while she and Kate have only locked horns once, I think that Alice may end up becoming Batwoman's Joker." Luke said, even though he knew that was already the case. Just as the Joker had been Batman's greatest enemy, Alice had already become Batwoman's greatest enemy before on one earth and he had no doubt that she'd become it again.

"Great. Nice to know that despite everything, one thing remains constant in Gotham. When a Bat comes out, they always have one enemy who stands out among the other." Helena said, rolling her eyes at that.

"We could use your help taking her down." Luke said.

"And you'll have it. I'm back in Gotham for the long haul now. My city needs me." Helena said and Luke smiled.

"Dad, what's going on? Why were you so desperate to see me?" Kate asked as she entered her father's office at Crow's HQ.

"Last night Alice called me from one of the Crow's secure phones." Jacob said.

"What? Are you okay?" Kate asked.

"I'm fine. But the reason I called you is because the way she spoke, I think she at least knows something about where your mom and sister are." Jacob said.

"That just makes the need to find her even greater. Even if we don't like the answers she gives us, at least she'll give us answers." Kate said and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"And she's not the only psychopath I plan to put behind bars." Jacob said and Kate rolled her eyes.

"Seriously dad. Batwoman hasn't even been here a week yet and you're already gunning after her." Kate said.

"Kate, can't you tell that she's the reason Alice is a problem? She brought out all the crazies in Gotham just like Batman did." Jacob said and Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Do you even hear yourself? Do you even remember that Alice showed up in Gotham before Batwoman did? In fact, she kidnapped one of your agents and if I recall correctly, she's the one who saved Sophie." Kate said.

"She undermines the city's officials." Jacob said.

"The GCPD don't seem to mind it. In fact, they welcome it. Are you just jealous that Batwoman and before her, Batman, did a better job of doing your job than you do?" Kate asked.

"Until she leaves just like Batman did and when she does, she'll end up leaving Gotham at the mercy of crazies." Jacob said.

"Is that what this is about?" Kate asked.

"The city has been disappointed by that symbol before and it's only a matter of time until it happens again. The Crows protect gotham and we don't just disappear when it's convenient for us." Jacob said.

"No, you just only protect people who can afford it. The reason the public loves the Bat more than the Crows is because she protects everyone, not just the rich, but the people who actually need help." Kate said as she walked away from her father, not willing to get into this with him again, since she knew that nothing was likely to change her father's mind about the Bat, no matter how many people she saved.


	14. Chapter 14

A week later, Batwoman and the Huntress were arriving at the scene of a turned on Bat signal.

"Any ideas on who turned on the bat light?" Huntress asked Luke over the comms.

"No, after all, this is Gotham. People don't need a real reason to turn on the bat light." Luke said.

"Fair point. I guess we'll find out when we get there." Batwoman said as they arrived at the bat signal.

"Okay, we're at the light, now where's the person who lit it." Huntress asked.

"Turn around." a new voice said Batwoman growled as she whirled around to see Alice standing there.

"Alice. What the hell are you doing here?" Batwoman asked as she reached for a batarang.

"Oh, I just wanted an honest conversation with you. Kate." Alice said, shocking them both.

"Who's Kate?" Batwoman asked.

"Oh please, don't even try it sis." Alice said.

"Wait, did she just call you sis?" Huntress asked.

"I don't know why you think my name is Kate, but we are definitely not related." Batwoman said, since she'd honestly disowned herself from Alice.

"Really. So Batwoman shows up around the same time you come back to town, to rescue your ex-girlfriend and you add red to the batsuit, for our birthstone." Alice said and Batwoman sighed.

"Why do you think I'm your sister?" Batwoman asked, even though she already knew.

"Because in another life, I went by another name. Beth. Beth Kane." Alice said as Huntress looked at her in shock.

"Liar!" Batwoman shouted as she tossed a batarang at Alice, who quickly managed to dodge it and pulled out her butterfly knife and went on the attack.

"I know it's you under that mask Kate. And you won't do anything to me." Alice said.

"What makes you say that?" Batwoman asked as she knocked Alice back.

"Because I'm the only one who can tell you where to find mommy dearest." Alice said and Batwoman's vision went red as she lunged at her archenemy and gripped her tightly.

"Where is she? Where is my mother?" Kate demanded, not even bothering to keep her identity secret anymore, since right now, her desperation to find her mother overrode everything else.

"You really think I'd tell you that?" Alice asked smugly, only to have Batwoman begin punching her.

"Where is Gabi Kane?" Batwoman demanded as she pushed Alice against the ledge.

"Promise to let me go and I'll tell you." Alice said, only to be surprised when Batwoman held her wrist to her throat and pushed her head over the ledge.

"Oh please, you won't do it." Alice said.

"Do you really want to test that theory?" Batwoman asked angrily.

"Batwoman, enough. Don't stoop to her level. We'll send her to Arkham, get answers that way. She wants to get in your head." Huntress warned, since she was honestly afraid that Batwoman would cross the same line Batman had.

Hearing her cousin's words snapped Batwoman out of her rage and she realized what she was doing.

"You shouldn't have come up here Alice. And you definitely should not have crossed the line you did." Batwoman said.

"Why not. It's clear that you and I have more in common than you think. After all, you just beat me senseless to get information. But then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since this wouldn't be the first time you were the cause of my suffering." Alice said, but this time, her guilt trip wasn't going to work on Kate.

"Nice try. And you may have figured out my name, but we are nothing alike and you are not my sister. But you are going to tell me where my mom is. One way or another." Batwoman said.

"You're not gonna lock me up. Not if you want mommy dearest to be alive for you to save." Alice said.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

"Do you really think I'd come up here without a contingency plan? I'm the only person who knows where Gabi Kane is and if I'm not there to give her food and water, she'll die. Do you really think that you can find her before she dies of starvation or dehydration?" Alice asked.

"You're holding your own mother hostage? You're insane." Huntress said, horrified.

"And you don't have a choice but to let me go." Alice said as Batwoman reluctantly let her go.

"She's right. She may be a lunatic, but I won't risk my mom's safety." Batwoman said and Huntress nodded.

"Glad we understand each other." Alice said as she walked away, leaving Batwoman seething at her.

"I can't believe you let Alice go." Luke said.

"We didn't have a choice. Until we rescue my mom from her, we can't make a move." Kate said, glaring dangerously at Luke, who quickly backed down.

"Well, maybe we should try using Wayne's satellite to track Alice's movements and let her lead us to Gabi." Helena said, trying to play peacemaker between them.

"Right." Luke said.

"We have a satellite?" Kate asked.

"Yep. Bruce created it under the pretenses of space exploration, but in reality, it's purpose was to monitor Gotham and also track Superman when he first became active and they became friends." Helena said.

"Good to know. Anyways, let's get to work. The sooner we find my mom, the sooner I can put Alice in Arkham where she belongs." Kate said.

"You want to put your sister in Arkham?" Luke asked.

"The only sister I have now is Mary and I intend on keeping her and the rest of Gotham safe. Even the jackass my father has become." Kate said.

"So, I'm guessing that means that you are not going to be telling him your identity?" Helena asked.

"Are you crazy? Unless my dad suddenly sees the light, he can never know the truth." Kate said and both Luke and Helena both nodded as they got to work.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey, what was with the SOS?" Helena asked as she entered Kate's office.

"You up for a road trip?" Kate asked.

"Wait what?" Helena asked.

"If we're going to find out where my mom is, then I think that the first step should be figuring out what happened after the accident and to me that starts in the last place my dad and I looked." Kate said and Helena nodded.

"Makes sense. So, where are we going?" Helena asked as Kate put a map down on the desk.

"Here. This farm is the last place my dad and I looked due to a phone call that had apparently come from Beth, but since we never found her or my mom, we assumed it was a dead end." Kate said.

"Now you're thinking that the owner of this farm lied to you?" Helena asked and Kate nodded.

"Which is why, while we're investigating the farm, Luke is going to be looking into the owner and seeing if he can track them down." Kate said.

"Do you know the name?" Helena asked.

"August Cartwright." Kate said, since that name was still on the land deed.

"Great. Any relationship with Jonathan Cartwright that's locked up in Arkham?" Helena asked.

"Luke is working on that now. I told him to call my dad with any connection he finds while we're checking out the farm for any clues we may have missed last time. Or anything that can give us some clue on where she's holding my mom now." Kate said.

"Kate, are you sure you're not trying to find a way to bring your sister out in Alice?" Helena asked.

"No. If Alice has been holding our mother hostage for years, then she's my sister in blood, but nothing else." Kate said.

"I'm just saying, no one understands a complicated family better than me. My birth father is a mob boss who's the reason my mother was killed. I mean sure, things worked out in the end for me, but still." Helena said.

"I'll deal with my emotions regarding Alice once she's rotting in a cell in Arkham." Kate said.

"Okay, just making sure. I saw the toll my father's battle with the Joker had on him and you know how it ended and this fight is even more personal for you." Helena said.

"I'm not going to kill Alice. No matter how much she deserves it, her death, it won't come by my hand. And I know I won't cross that line because unlike Bruce, I have people to pull me back from it. I have a team. Maybe if Bruce had also had one, he wouldn't have killed the Joker, or at least, he wouldn't have felt like he had to leave because of it." Kate said and Helena smiled.

"So, when do we leave?" Helena asked.

"In a few minutes." Kate said.

Later on that day, Jacob Kane was confused about why he'd been called by Kate's IT guy to come to her office and she wasn't even there.

"Mr. Kane, thank you for coming." Luke said as he held out his hand to Jacob, who shook it, though Luke could tell it was a bit reluctantly.

"Where's my daughter?" Jaob asked.

"She's running down a lead on her mother and sister, but she asked me to do some digging and I found something that I thought I should tell you, since she's not answering my calls right now." Luke said.

"What is it?" Jacob asked, a bit impatiently.

"Kate is currently investigating the farm that was the last place you looked and she asked me to look into the farm's owner, a Dr. August Cartwright." Luke said.

"So?" Jacob asked.

"You remember how when Alice first became active, she demanded the release of Jonathan Cartwright from Arkham?" Luke asked and now Jacob began to understand where he was going with this.

"What's the connection between the two?" Jacob asked.

"It turns out that Jonathan Cartwright is August Cartwright's son. He might have some answers about where Gabi and Beth are now." Luke said.

"Thank you Mr. Fox. But now I need to go." Jacob said, this time giving Luke a sincere handshake before walking out and Luke rolled his eyes, trying to figure out how Jacob had never put those pieces together himself.


	16. Chapter 16

Jacob Kane was currently sitting in the visitor's section of Iron Heights and watched as Jonathan Cartwright was brought out and placed on the other side of the glass and they both picked up the phones on either side of it.

"Well well well. Look who it is. Commander Jacob Kane. I was wondering if I'd ever see you again after last time." Jonathan said.

"I remember you. You were at the farm my daughter and I investigated." Jacob said.

"Yes I was. And so were your wife and daughter. But you left them behind to suffer at the hands of my father." Jonathan said.

"Where are my wife and daughter." Jacob demanded.

"What makes you think I'd tell you that?" Jonathan asked.

"So you do know where they are?" Jacob asked.

"You've already met one of them. You just don't want to admit it." Jonathan said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jacob demanded.

"You know what I'm talking about. Gabi Kane was strong, I credit her military training to that, but Beth, do you really think that she was able to endure the tortures of her past without breaking? Wake up Commander. You know where Beth is, you just don't want to admit it." Jonathan said smugly.

"You're lying." Jacob said.

"You know I'm not. You just don't want to admit the truth." Jonathan said.

"Where are my wife and daughter?" Jacob repeated.

"I've already told you where your daughter is. Your wife's location. That comes at a price." Jonathan said.

"I'm not releasing you from here." Jacob said.

"Then we have nothing more to talk about." Jonathan said.

"You listen to me right now. I can make your life a living hell inside Arkham, so you'd better start talking." Jacob demanded.

"It's not happening. And what are you going to do to me from behind the safety of that glass?" Jonathan taunted him and Jacob pounded his fist against the glass.

"Tell me where they are right now!" Jacob shouted at him as the guards escorted Mouse back to his cell.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Helena asked Kate as they looked around the desolate farm.

"Anything that can give us clues on where my mom is. We can't stop Alice as long as she is holding my mom hostage, since I can't risk her hurting her." Kate said.

"Kate, we've searched every square inch of this place. I don't think we'll find anything here." Helena said.

"I'm not giving up." Kate said.

"I'm not saying you should, all I'm saying is that we need to take a step back and breathe. Doing the same thing we've been doing for the past hour isn't going to help." Helena said and Kate took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. It's just that, I lost my mom once. Now that I know she's alive, I'm not going to stop looking until I find her and bring her home." Kate said.

"I know that and I'm not telling you to stop. I'm just telling you to take a breath. We still haven't found where exactly Cartwright held your mom and sister in this place, since you said that you already searched every room we searched today. There must be something we're overlooking. Maybe if we can find where Cartwright kept his prisoners, we can find something to help us at least track him down." Helena said and Kate nodded.

"Let's double check the basement. If we're going to find anything here, it will likely be down there." Kate said, since this time, she was sure she'd find the same cell she had last time.

Helena nodded as they headed back down the basement and sure enough, this time, Kate managed to find the cell and made it look like an accident.

"Whoa." Helena said.

"Unbelievable. The last time I was here, I had my hand up against this wall. I was right in front of them." Kate said.

"Hey, you didn't know. You were a kid, you didn't have the same training you do now. I'm surprised your dad never figured anything out though." Helena said.

"Who knows what was going on in his head. But look." Kate said as she pointed out the plans on one of the two cots.

"These look like, oh god I think I'm gonna be sick." Helena said as she looked at the plans.

"Human face masks made out of actual skin." Kate said, just as disgusted by it as she was before.

"What the hell was going on here?" Helena asked.

"I don't know, but I think I know I can get some answers about that." Kate said.

"Don't you think your dad would've alright questioned Cartwright by now?" Helena asked.

"Yeah, but he wouldn't know the right questions to ask. I will. Since something tells me Cartwright will be more than happy to spill on his sicko father." Kate said.

"I hope you're right." Helena said.

"Let's get back to Gotham." Kate said and Helena nodded as they headed towards the car, the plans in hand, since they'd be useful in court for when they found August Cartwright and Kate knew that this time she would. Her way.


	17. Chapter 17

Jonathan Cartwright was confused when he was guided back to the visitation room for the second time in two days. But his confusion faded when he saw who it was.

"Well, well, to what do I owe this pleasure Ms. Kane?" Mouse asked.

"I have questions for you Mr. Cartwright. Or would you prefer I called you Mouse?" Kate asked, taking Mouse aback.

"How did you know that name?" Mouse asked.

"Alice mentioned it in her debut video. She called you her mouse when she attempted to convince the Crows to trade Sophie for you." Kate said, glad she had that cover.

"Well Ms. Kane, I'm not telling you anything about Alice or your family unless you give me my freedom." Mouse said.

"I don't have questions about them." Kate said.

"Oh really, then why are you here?" Mouse asked.

"I have questions about your father." Kate said and she could tell she'd piqued Mouse's interest.

"Really, well I'll spare you some time. I haven't spoken to my father in years, he's the one who made me what I am today. But I will tell you what I do know about his whereabouts." Mouse said.

"Keep talking." Kate said.

"He's dead." Mouse said.

"You honestly believe that to be true, considering his specialty?" Kate asked.

"What do you mean?" Mouse asked.

"I found the cell he held my mother and sister in at his old house. In it were plans for human skin face masks?" Kate asked and Mouse sighed.

"He made those masks to cover up my face after the accident disfigured it. Said he was doing it to help me." Mouse said.

"But instead, he only did it for his own convenience. He told you to hide your true face for years, is it any wonder you ended up in a place like this?" Kate asked.

"What's your point?" Mouse asked.

"Did you ever see your father's body?" Kate asked and now Mouse was beginning to see where she was going with this.

"No, I didn't." Mouse said.

"Then what's to say that he didn't use those same talents he used to try and hide you to disappear himself." Kate asked, really just trying to get into his head, since this was a new tactic she and Helena had come up with. Plant the idea in Mouse's head that his father was still alive so that when he did inevitably escape from Arkham, he would no doubt lead them not only to Alice, but then they would lead them to both her mother and August Cartwright.

"Even if that's true, I have no idea where he is. What exactly were you hoping to accomplish with this?" Mouse asked.

"Since I know that you won't talk, your father might be more willing to and even if he isn't he's evaded justice for too long. And I think that we have something in common." Kate said.

"And what might that be?" Mouse asked.

"We both want to see your father suffer." Kate said and Mouse looked at her considering.

"Well, you're not wrong. But if he is still alive, I don't know where he is." Mouse said.

"Then I think I've gotten all I need from you." Kate said as she got up and walked away from the glass, smiling at herself, since for once, she was the one getting in Alice's head instead of the other way around. She knew it was only a matter of time until Alice broke Mouse out and he gave her the same message she'd given him. That would definitely get into her head and cause her to slip up. At least, she hoped so.

"So, how'd it go?" Luke asked as Kate entered the Batcave.

"As well as expected, I planted the idea in his head, now we let it drive him crazy and if Alice makes a move to get him out of Arkham, he'll share our little message with her and hopefully, it'll get in her head too." Kate said.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Helena asked.

"Business as normal. Speaking of, Helena, you want a job?" Kate asked.

"What?" Helena asked.

"Bruce was grooming both us to take over Wayne Enterprises, but you are technically his heir. If we're going to rebuild Wayne Enterprises into the diamond it once was, then we need to do things differently, starting with having two people in charge instead of just one." Kate said.

"You want me to be your business partner?" Helena asked.

"We're already partners in the field, why not be partners in our day jobs as well?" Kate asked.

"The board would never back two CEOs." Helena said.

"The board doesn't have the pull it once did, since they're the reason the company fell into its current state. I honestly thought that Bruce would've made sure his board of directors would be prepared to run the company in his absence before he left." Kate said.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Helena asked.

"You know more about the business than I do and while I'm doing my best, I think we both know that you're the person Bruce really wanted to take over the company." Kate said.

"Kate, while I appreciate the offer and I'll help you rebuild the company, you're it's CEO now, I also abandoned it when I left. I will however take the job of VP. Maybe we should consider renaming the company to Kane Enterprises to symbolize a new beginning." Helena said.

"Let's talk." Kate said as they headed upstairs to continue this discussion.


	18. Chapter 18

"I can't believe I'm really doing this." Kate said as she took a deep breath later on that week.

"Hey, you wanted to rebuild this company and what you're about to do is the first step of that. And remember, I'll have your back the entire time. Now, let's do this, since the sooner it starts, the sooner we get it over with." Helena said and Kate nodded as she took another deep breath and walked into the lobby of Wayne Tower, Helena right behind her, where a crowd of reporters, including her friend and the only reporter Kate truly trusted, Kara Danvers, were waiting as she walked up to the podium.

"Thank you all for coming out today. Some of you came a very long distance in a very short time." Kate said and Kara smiled at that.

"I know that several, if not all of you are curious on why I called for a press conference here at Wayne Tower. And now you're getting your answer. Three years ago, my cousin Bruce Wayne left both this city and this company behind and in his absence, Wayne Enterprises has fallen into disarray. But today, we take the first step in turning that around and rebuilding this company back into the shining star of Gotham City that it once was. And that new start begins with a new name and a new future. As of today, this company will no longer be known as Wayne Enterprises, for that company is gone. But from its ashes, rises a new company to take its place. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the beginning of Kane Industries." Kate said as the tarp covering the sign in the lobby was removed to reveal that the Wayne Enterprises sign had been replaced with a new sign that read KANE INDUSTRIES.

Immediately, she was bombarded by questions.

"Yes Ms. Danvers." Kate said, of course taking Kara's question first.

"What caused you to decide to reopen your cousin's company and rename it?" Kara asked.

"To answer your first question, when this company failed, it put a lot of good people out of jobs and was a big factor in Gotham's decline, since this company was one of the largest employers in Gotham. I plan on offering all those who were laid off of this company new jobs here if they want it, though it will be slow at first as this company is rebuilt." Kate said.

"And the reason for the name change?" Kara asked.

"I just wanted everyone to know that Bruce Wayne is no longer in charge of this company. Besides, I feel that the best way for this company to have a new start is with a new name. Wayne Enterprises, like Bruce Wayne, are in the past, while Kane Industries, like myself, is the future." Kate said as she moved to another reporter.

"What does Bruce Wayne's daughter Helena Wayne have to say about your decision with her father's company?" Scott Jenkins from the Gotham Gazette asked.

"Why don't you ask her?" Kate asked as Helena walked up to the podium.

"This whole decision was actually my idea and has my whole approval. Both my father and myself left Gotham and this company to fall to ruins. But Kate here is the one who came back first and began trying to rebuild it. She has my full support as this company's CEO and while I plan to assist her in any way that I can, she is the face and leader that this company needs to succeed. Especially since it will be her name on the building." Helena said as Kate took back over.

"And I'm also announcing our first initiative to both rebuild this company and help Gotham as I announce the newest subsidiary to Kane Industries. Gotham Pride Real Estate. Our plan is to rebuild rundown developments beyond the Crows districts and make them available to the working class." Kate said as she continued dealing with the press.


	19. Chapter 19

Mouse was surprised when he received another visitor a few days after the Kanes had visited him. He assumed that one of them had decided to come back for another pointless interrogation, but he was surprised at who was waiting for him. It was a young woman, around his age with brown hair and while he didn't recognize her face, he still knew who she was.

"You haven't paid me a visit in a while." Mouse said.

"I've been out of town, setting up the pieces for my plan. And I couldn't do that if I ended up here with you." Alice said with a smile, which Mouse returned.

"You realize how dangerous it is for you to be here now that the city is looking for you." Mouse said.

"And I am in the last place anyone would expect me to be in right now. Arkham. Just not as an inmate." Alice said.

"What if the guards hear us talking?" Mouse asked.

"You know the guards here are especially corrupt. My darling Dodgeson has already paid the ones on duty to give us privacy and fed fake prerecorded audio into the cameras, so they won't suspect a thing and for now, we can talk freely." Alice said and Mouse nodded, since as usual, Alice was one step ahead.

"Your family paid me a visit a few days ago." Mouse said.

"Not surprising. Did they give you any trouble?" Alice asked.

"No, Jacob was the way we both expected him to be, but Kate, she actually did throw me for a loop." Mouse said.

"What did she say to you?" Alice asked.

"I guess that she did some research before she came to see me, because she knows about my father and asked about him. However, she said something that got to me." Mouse said.

"What did she say?" Alice asked again.

"She knows about the face skin masks he made for me and she asked why it wasn't possible that he faked his death and made one for himself." Mouse said.

"Okay, I have to give her some props on that one. I wonder why we never considered that ourselves." Alice said.

"So what do we do about it?" Mouse asked.

"For right now, you need to sit tight until your liberation, which I promise will be soon. In the meantime, I am going to start looking into the possibility that August Cartwright is still alive and if he is, we will bring him to his knees before us before he dies for real." Alice said and Mouse nodded as Alice's watch beeped.

"And we're out of time. I promise, we'll speak again soon Jonathan." Alice said, being sure to avoid calling him Mouse, since that would be a dead giveaway before she got up and left.

"I was surprised you wanted to talk to me." Catherine said as she entered Jacob's office.

"This isn't about us. This is about Batwoman." Jacob said angrily.

"What about her?" Catherine asked.

"I know your company was working on a weapon capable of penetrating the bat suit. How close is it to being complete?" Jacob asked.

"It's still in the testing phases, but so far it's been very productive. Why?" Catherine asked.

"Because I want to buy enough of them to arm every Crow with Bat killing ordinance." Jacob said and Catherine nodded.

"Once the gun is ready, we can talk." Catherine said.

"Not just the gun. I want to hire Hamilton Dynamics to build an entire line of anti bat weaponry." Jacob said.

"I'll see what we can do." Catherine said and Jacob smiled.

"Excellent." Jacob said, unaware that this entire conversation had been overheard.

"You're dad is losing it." Luke said as he, Kate and Helena watched the meeting from the bug they'd planted in Jacob's office.

"Rather than focusing on taking down Alice or finding my mom, he's trying to find ways to kill both of us." Kate said.

"And he's the one in charge of the agency protecting this city?" Helena scoffed at that.

"His hatred of vigilantes is even greater than his desire to protect this city. And there's a good chance he's going to end up destroying it instead of my crazy sister or any of the other crazies in this city." Kate said.

"You think Sophie will end up supporting this?" Luke asked.

"I hope not, but you never know. I can only hope that her moral compass is stronger than her loyalty to my dad." Kate said.

"In the meantime, we should probably try to get our hands on that weapon and see if there's any way we can upgrade our suits to be resistant to them." Helena said and Kate nodded her agreement.


	20. Chapter 20

"So, what's the plan?" Helena asked.

"If I can hack into the Hamilton Dynamics mainframe, I can get all the data they've got on that gun, since you can bet that your dad won't be the only member of your family after it." Luke said to Kate, who nodded.

"If Alice gets that gun before we find a way to neutralize its effect on our suits, she can actually kill us, since I melted down the railgun." Kate said.

"We should also figure out if there's anything else that can penetrate the suits." Luke said.

"Actually, there is one thing that I know of besides the railgun and this gun that can penetrate the suit." Helena said.

"What is it?" Kate asked.

"Luke's dad designed the suit's nanites to be impervious to nearly every element on earth. But there is one that can penetrate it." Helena said.

"Okay, but what is it?" Kate asked.

"A glowing green rock called kryptonite. Considering it's the only element on this planet that can hurt kryptonians, makes sense." Helena said.

"Any way Alice or my dad could get their hands on it?" Kate asked, though she knew the answer.

"Unlikely. From what my dad told me, every place that has kryptonite is highly fortified and next to impossible to infiltrate without inside help. Besides, neither of them knows that kryptonite exists or that it can pierce the batsuit, so we should focus on the Hamilton Dynamics gun." Helena said.

"I also think that we might be able to use my dad's actions to this company's advantage." Kate said.

"Meaning what?" Luke asked.

"Since my dad appears to be diverting the Crows funding and resources towards taking us down, maybe Kane Industries should start helping the GCPD actually protect the city by providing them with funding and new equipment and other resources to help them protect the city." Kate said.

"Not a bad idea." Helena said and Luke nodded.

"So, back to the topic of the gun, how are we getting our hands on it." Helena asked.

"We can't steal the gun without arousing suspicion. But Luke, if we can get you access to the Hamilton Dynamics system, do you think that you can get access to all the files in it?" Kate asked.

"I should be able to. Why?" Luke asked.

"I'm sure that all the data we'll need is stored in the Hamilton Dynamics system." Kate said.

"She's right. The system would contain all the technical data about that gun, which we can then use to find a way to render it useless against you." Luke said.

"It's too risky for us to go in. If Batwoman or the Huntress is seen breaking into Hamilton Dynamics, no matter what the reason, it could be used against us." Helena said.

"So what do you suggest?" Kate asked her cousin.

"You've got a friend in the Crows right? Sophie?" Helena asked.

"Yeah why?" Kate asked.

"Sophie still owes Batwoman one for saving her life, so maybe you could get her to use her Crows clearance to get us that data. Not to mention, I think that she should be made aware of what her boss is doing, since any weapon capable of penetrating the bat suit can do a lot of damage and hurt a lot of innocent people, especially if it's mass produced." Helena said and Kate sighed.

"Okay, I'll talk to her. I just hope that Sophie doesn't tell my dad." Kate said.

"I don't think she will. Sophie's moral compass is stronger than her loyalty. If you can get her to listen to you, I think she might not only help us, but she might even quit the Crows in disgust. Who knows, maybe this could pave the way for you to tell her the truth." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"I'll suit up and go talk to her." Kate said as she moved to suit up.

When Sophie arrived home that night, she was surprised when the lights wouldn't turn on. She quickly grabbed her gun before looking around.

"Show yourself." Sophie ordered before she relaxed at the sight of Batwoman dropping down onto her balcony.

"You know, a phone call would have sufficed." Sophie said.

"This required a personal touch." Batwoman said.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"You owe me for saving your life and I'm calling it in." Batwoman said.

"I didn't realize you were that kind of hero." Sophie said.

"Normally I'm not, but what I'm asking you to do is something that I need to be sure you won't back out of." Batwoman said.

"What is it?" Sophie asked as Batwoman played a recording of Jacob and Catherine's conversation for her.

"Wait, so my boss is commissioning his ex wife to build an entire arsenal of bat killing weapons." Sophie asked.

"Yes, and while a part of this is about my safety and the safety of the Huntress, my main concern is that this suit was designed to be impenetrable. Any weapon that can get through it is a threat not only to me, but to the general public as well, especially if they're mass produced." Batwoman said and Sophie couldn't argue with that.

"My boss is becoming obsessed with killing Batwoman. He's even started to lose sight of the hunt for Alice and his first wife and daughter. I've noticed it too. What do you need from me?" Sophie asked.

"I need you to use your Crows clearance to get the schematics of the gun and give them to me so that my team can find a way to disable it or shield ourselves from it." Batwoman said.

Sophie debated with herself for a few minutes before her moral compass won out.

"I'll do it, but after that, I'm not sure if I can remain a crow." Sophie said.

"That's fine. I just wanted you to be aware of what the man you were working for was really doing." Batwoman said.

"Thank you for that. I have a lot to think about after I do this." Sophie said and Batwoman nodded before she jumped off the balcony and used her grappling hook to swing away, leaving Sophie still somewhat conflicted about what she was about to do.


	21. Chapter 21

Sophie was walking through Hamilton Dynamics, unable to believe the lengths her boss was willing to go to kill one woman, since she knew he honestly didn't care about the Huntress enough to go after her. But Batwoman, he was obsessed with killing her and Sophie just didn't understand why? The Crows shouldn't be trying to kill Batwoman, in her opinion, they should be working with her, since they had the goals, just different methods and resources to achieve them. Not to mention Batwoman represented hope the city, something that as Sophie thought about it, the Crows never really had done and it really just strengthened her resolve to leave the agency after doing this favor for Batwoman, since she agreed that any weapon capable of piercing that suit was not something that should be mass produced for anyone to get their hands on. Especially lunatics like Alice.

Anyways, Sophie was driven from her thoughts when she heard someone call out to her.

"Agent Moore. What brings Commander Kane's second in command here?" Catherine Hamilton asked as she walked up to her and Sophie had to stop herself from glaring at the woman who created this project in the first place.

"Commander Kane told me about your deal with the Crows and I was hoping to get a sneak preview of our newest weapon?" Sophie asked and Catherine smiled at her.

"Of course. But let's keep this between us. I don't want word to get out about this before the project is complete." Catherine said.

"Agreed. I'd rather Commander Kane did not know about this, since technically, he doesn't know I'm here, but I was just too eager to see the gun for myself." Sophie said, lying through her teeth perfectly.

"Right this way." Catherine said as she led Sophie to one of the secure vaults.

"Wow, this place looks secure." Sophie said as she looked around.

"These vaults contain some of Hamilton Dynamic's most important assets and as such, we have installed the highest level of security. No one gets in without us knowing about it and no unauthorized personnel can enter at all. Only employees of the highest level of security clearance are allowed inside." Catherine said proudly and Sophie had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, since in her experience in life, there was no such thing as an uncrackable safe or vault. Every system had a weak point, even one as complex as this.

"I'm sure Gotham feels secure knowing the safety precautions you take to keep your weapons secure." Sophie said as she looked around.

"I notice that there are computers inside this vault." Sophie said as she walked up to one of them.

"We keep the designs for each item in this vault off the main Hamilton Dynamics server and are stored on these computers to prevent anyone with general network access from getting their hands on it, or outside hackers, who even if they manage to make their way into our network, won't be able to find the information they're looking for." Catherine explained.

"I have to admit, that is ingenious." Sophie said as she covertly plugged the hacker device into the computer as they arrived at the gun.

"Wow, that is one hell of a gun." Sophie said and Catherine nodded proudly.

"Yes, Hamilton Dynamics has been developing it since Batman came on the scene and with Batwoman's debut and the Huntress's return, it seemed prudent to finish it." Catherine said and Sophie was stunned to learn that this weapon had been in development back during Batman's time. Sure, she knew that for it to be completed this soon that it couldn't have just been thought but still.

"Mind if I take a closer look?" Sophie asked.

"Of course not." Catherine said as she picked the gun up and handed it to Sophie who held it up and looked like she was going to take a shot with it.

"Feels a bit heavy." Sophie admitted.

"I admit it's a bit bulky, but this is just the first model. Who knows what the future holds." Catherine said and Sophie made sure to distract Catherine as best she could by pretending to admire the gun until she heard a beep from the computer, indicating that the data had been downloaded.

"What was that?" Catherine asked.

"Just my watch. See." Sophie said, showing her smart watch, which was beeping an alarm, since she'd prepared an alarm to set off to cover for the beeping.

"You need to get back to work." Catherine said and Sophie nodded as she handed the gun back to Catherine who went about focusing on placing the gun back in its case and reactivating it's security protocols that she didn't notice Sophie covertly slipping the drive out of the computer and into her pocket.

That night, Sophie was standing by the turned on bat signal, waiting for Batwoman to appear.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to call me here." Batwoman said from behind her, causing Sophie to jump.

"Well, it's not like I have a phone number to reach you." Sophie said.

"Did you get it?" Batwoman asked as Sophie pulled out the drive.

"Everything Hamilton Dynamics has on that gun is on this thing. But get yourself a new mole in the Crows, since honestly, I'm handing in my resignation tomorrow. I can't stay with them as long as my boss is putting his own obsessions over the safety of the public." Sophie said.

"I understand. And I think you're making a good choice Agent Moore." Batwoman said.

"Please, call me Sophie, since I won't be an agent for much longer." Sophie said and Batwoman nodded.

"Sophie it is then. But I'm not telling you my name." Batwoman said as she took the drive and then jumped off the rooftops.

"That's okay. I already know Kate." Sophie said as she walked turned off the bat signal and walked off of the rooftop.


	22. Chapter 22

"Wait, you're what?" Jacob asked.

"You heard me sir. I quit. I joined the Crows because I wanted to help protect the people of this city, but honestly, I think I was just deluding myself into thinking that's what we did." Sophie said.

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked angrily.

"The Crows don't protect Gotham. We're nothing more than a status symbol, since the crows only protect people who can afford it instead of the people who actually need our help. There's a reason the people in this city prefer to use the bat signal instead of calling us and it's because that symbol responds no matter who the person using is. It doesn't matter if they're black or white, rich or poor, gay or straight, the people who answer that light protect all the people of gotham, not just those who can afford a certain price. And let's face it sir, both Batwoman and the Huntress could take down all of our agents on their own. We shouldn't be fighting them, we should be working with them." Sophie said.

"They are vigilantes. Criminals who inspire anarchy, fear and chaos." Jacob said.

"Does that same logic apply to Superman and Supergirl? They are technically vigilantes and yet the public loves them. But does that mean that you want to take them down too?" Sophie asked and when Jacob didn't respond, she was shocked.

"Wait, I was joking, but you actually want to take down the two most powerful heroes this planet has?" Sophie asked.

"They are threats to this planet who continuously go outside the laws of every nation on it to inflict their will." Jacob said arrogantly.

"They save people's lives and you're unbelievable. Not only do you want to put down Batwoman, but you also want to take out America's golden boy and girl." Sophie said.

"What has gotten into you?" Jacob asked.

"You mean common sense? You're willing to endanger countless lives for your own petty obsession. Hell, you've even put killing Batwoman above finding your own wife and daughter. And I want nothing to do with any of this. So let me know how it goes, because I can already tell that going down this path, it won't end well for you. If you insist on letting yourself be dragged down this path, that's fine, just don't try and take me down with you. So once again, I quit." Sophie said as she walked away from Jacob, fully intending on paying a visit to what was now Kane Tower.

"So, what do you think?" Kate asked Luke as he looked over the data Sophie had provided them with.

"I think that while this data is exactly what I need, it will take some time for me to find a weakness we can exploit." Luke said.

"What about an EMP generator?" Helena asked.

"Not a bad idea except those things take time to charge and our suits aren't exactly designed to carry a power source necessary for that. Not to mention while it would stop the guns, it could also end up causing more problems for any other electric systems in its blast radius." Kate said.

"She's right, it's too impractical. But I'm sure I can find something." Luke said, right as Kate got a text from Sophie.

"Who's that?" Helena asked.

"Sophie, she's on her way here to talk to me, which means I'd better get upstairs." Kate said.

"Go, I'll let you know if I find anything." Luke said as Kate nodded and headed for the elevator.

Kate barely managed to get into her office before Sophie did.

"Huh, I thought that the CEO of a major company would dress a bit more seriously." Sophie said.

"And if this were a business meeting, I definitely would, but my philosophy is, if you have to work, might as well feel comfortable doing it. The employees don't seem to mind the fact that they can dress casually as long as they don't have to present anything." Kate said and Sophie chuckled.

"Fair enough." Sophie said.

"Speaking of work attire, why are you not wearing yours?" Kate asked, since before she'd arrived, Sophie had stopped at her apartment to change out of her Crow's uniform and into jeans and a sweater.

"Because I no longer work for your dad." Sophie said, wondering if Kate was going to play this game with her and sure enough, she did.

"Wow, what happened?" Kate asked.

"You showed me the truth about him." Sophie said.

"I'm sorry what?" Kate asked.

"When you revealed to me that he was working with Catherine to develop a line of bat killing ordinance? Any of this ringing a bell?" Sophie asked, honestly enjoying how squirmy Kate was getting about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kate said.

"Kate, I know you're Batwoman." Sophie said.

"I admit I'm a fan of hers, but I'm not Batwoman." Kate said.

"Kate, I've known you're Batwoman for about a month. I started putting the pieces together after you saved me from Alice. You've never had a problem being honest with me before, so please, just be honest with me now. I won't tell anyone, I promise." Sophie said and Kate sighed.

"I'm not Batwoman Sophie. Why would you think I am?" Kate asked.

"Because I'd recognize your eyes anywhere and I looked right into them when Batwoman saved me from Alice. And the way she held me, the only other person who's ever held me that way is you. Kate, even after the last five years, I still know you better than anyone. I know that you're Batwoman, because honestly, you're the only person I know of in this city that's crazy enough to do something your dad hates that much. Not to mention Batwoman shows up around the same time you come back to Gotham, the first thing she does is save me." Sophie said and Kate knew that she wouldn't be able to convince Sophie otherwise this time.

"So, are you going to tell anyone about your suspicion?" Kate asked, wondering if she'd need Helena to put on the bat suit to cover for her again.

"The whole reason I quit the Crows was because your dad was becoming obsessed with killing you. I'm not telling anyone." Sophie said.

"That's not the Sophie I remember." Kate said.

"And the Kate I remember would never approve of a new Bat, let alone become her. We've both changed. And hopefully for the better." Sophie said and Kate could tell that Sophie was being honest.

"Okay, I am Batwoman." Kate said and it honestly felt so good to get that off her chest.

"I know. So, do I get to see the Bat Lair?" Sophie asked and Kate chuckled.

"Not yet. Once my teammates and I have confirmed that you're being serious and not just trying to expose our operation, then we'll talk." Kate said and while normally Sophie would be offended by that, she could understand the hesitation, since Batman and now Batwoman's lair's location was one of the biggest mysteries in Gotham and she could understand the hesitation to expose its location to a former crow.

"I'm also not telling you who Batman or the Huntress is." Kate said.

"I understand that. But there is something I am hoping you can tell me." Sophie asked.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Do you know why Batman left?" Sophie asked and Kate nodded.

"He left because the last time he and the Joker fought, only one of them walked away." Kate said.

"Wait, Batman killed the Joker?" Sophie asked and Kate nodded.

"That's why he left. Batman was so ashamed of what he'd done, he left." Kate said.

"Wow." Sophie said trying to wrap her head around that.

"Anyways, it sounds like you need a new job." Kate said.

"Yeah I do." Sophie said.

"Well, I could use someone around here to help whip Kane Security into shape." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"I'm not sure if that's something I want to do long term." Sophie said.

"It can be temporary, since I do have some connections that might be able to help you find more permanent work." Kate said.

"That would be great." Sophie said with a smile.

"I'll set it up and in the meantime, you start tomorrow, I'll have your contract ready for you then." Kate said and Sophie smiled before she nodded and walked out of the office and Kate took a deep breath, hoping she hadn't made a big mistake.


	23. Chapter 23

"So wait, your ex-girlfriend knows that you're Batwoman and you're not concerned?" Luke asked, since last time Kate had done everything she could to prove Sophie wrong.

"It's different this time. This time she's no longer my dad's faithful lapdog. But I'm being careful, while she knows that I'm Batwoman, she doesn't know anything else." Kate said, since Helena was not here, so they could talk about the old universe.

"Kate, all I'm saying is that it's a risk." Luke said, since he had to admit he'd been pleasantly surprised by this new Sophie, but he was still cautious.

"Why do you think I hired her to run our security division? Not just so I can offer a job, but also so I can keep an eye on her until I'm sure that she can be trusted." Kate said.

"Smart." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"Anyways, I need to get back to work and so do you." Kate said.

"What, I thought I was your assistant." Luke said with a chuckle.

"If this was still just a real estate agency, it would be, but since we're rebooting this company to it's former glory, I'm putting you in charge of Kane Industries R&D division. Which should give you the resources you need to give Helena and I an upgrade." Kate said.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

"If we can't find a way to disable the gun Hamilton Dynamics is developing, we need to be able to defend ourselves against it. And not just ourselves. If those weapons enter wide scale production, a lot of people get hurt. We need to provide the GCPD with a way to defend themselves against those weapons, since they're already in the wrong hands." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. But it's gonna be tough. My dad designed the batsuit's nanites to be pretty much indestructible." Luke said.

"Try going through his notes, see if you can find anything." Kate suggested and Luke nodded.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Luke asked.

"We take down the corrupt cabal in this city before the executioner does." Kate said.

"Kate, we're talking about the same man who convicted the man who killed my father." Luke said.

"And how do we know that wasn't a setup? That Reggie Harris just wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, what about Chris the Fist and everyone else who's been wrongly imprisoned. Gotham can't just rely on the Bat and the Huntress, it does need to be able to put it's faith in legitimate law enforcement and the legal system and since as long as my dad is in charge of the Crows, we need to start clearing the GCPD and the rest of Gotham's legal system of corruption, since while this city will always look to that symbol for protection, it should also be able rely on it's duly appointed officials, since Helena and I, we can't be everywhere the city needs or wants us to be whenever they need us to be. And exposing that cabal is the first step in restoring this city's faith in its government's ability to protect them." Kate said.

"I understand that, but still, it's a tough pill to swallow." Luke said.

"Luke, if Reggie Harris was set up, then that means that your dad's real killer is still at large somewhere, avoiding the punishment for what he did." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"So, where is Helena anyways?" Luke asked.

"Running down a lead on the bastard she calls her birth father. I gave her the day off." Kate said and Luke nodded, right as Kate's phone rang and she saw it was an unknown number.

"Who is this?" Kate asked as she answered it.

"My name is Jefferson Pierce. We've never officially met, but we have some of the same friends." Jefferson said.

"Really, who?" Kate asked.

"Oliver Queen, Barry Allen and Kara Danvers. Or as the world knows them, the Green Arrow, the Flash and Supergirl. Isn't that right Batwoman?" Jefferson said.

"Okay, you know who I am and you know who they are. Why don't you tell me who you are." Kate asked.

"They call me Black Lightning." Jefferson said.

"The hero of Freeland. What can I do for you." Kate asked, since she knew that Black Lightning was a friend of the Flash, even though she'd never actually met him.

"There's a problem in Freeland that I think you can help me with." Jefferson said as he explained the ASA situation to her.

"Okay, but I'm not really seeing what you need me for? It sounds like Kara is working on exposing this ASA." Kate said.

"She is, but the lead bastard, Odell, he lives in Gotham." Jefferson said and now Kate caught on.

"You want me to keep tabs on him." Kate said.

"Anything we can get on Odell is useful. I know it's a long shot, but maybe." Jefferson said.

"Send me a pic we can use for facial recognition and then we'll see what we can come up with." Kate agreed.

"Thank you." Jefferson said as they both hung up.


	24. Chapter 24

"Kate, we need to talk." Sophie said as she entered Kate's office.

"Is this about the sorry state my security team is in?" Kate asked.

"No, I'm taking a great amount of joy in whipping them into shape." Sophie said and Kate chuckled.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Kate asked.

"It's about your dad." Sophie said.

"What about him?" Kate asked.

"It's not just Batwoman and the Huntress he wants to take down. I'm pretty sure he wants to wage war against all vigilantes, including Superman and Supergirl." Sophie said.

"Wait what?" Kate asked, thinking that she'd misheard Sophie.

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly, but when I confronted your dad when I quit, he all but confirmed that he believed that Superman and Supergirl were threats that needed to be taken down and I'm guessing he also wouldn't hesitate to take down these other heroes like the Flash or Green Arrow." Sophie said.

"And he expects this city to trust him with its safety while he wants to take down all of this world's heroes. What a hypocrite." Kate said.

"Yeah, I thought that since you likely have a way to contact them, you could give them a heads up." Sophie said.

"I have a direct line to Supergirl, I will let her know." Kate said, her faith that Sophie really had changed growing even more.

"Great. But anyways, is there anything in that world I can do to help?" Sophie asked.

"Unless you know where Alice is holding my mom no. Huntress and I have run down every lead we can find, but no luck yet." Kate said.

"You'll find her Kate." Sophie said.

"I hope so. I thought she was dead for so long and considering the maniac Alice has become, there's no telling what kind of shape she'll be in." Kate said.

"At least you know she's still alive. Alice will keep her alive as leverage to use against you." Sophie said as a thought came to Kate.

"What? I know that look. You've got an idea." Sophie said.

"What if Alice is bluffing? So far, we've just been taking her word for it, but like I said, she's crazy. She could just be saying she has my mom to keep me in check." Kate said.

"So now you want to get a message to Alice to have her prove it to you." Sophie said and Kate nodded.

"And that message can be used to trace a location and even if it won't, I'll know she's still alive." Kate said.

"Have to admit, that is a brilliant plan." Sophie said.

"Thanks, now get back to work." Kate said and Sophie nodded as she walked out of the office and Kate sent a text to Luke and Helena to meet her in the Batcave.

"Okay, what was so urgent that you wanted us to meet you here now?" Helena asked.

"I think I may have an idea on how to find out where Alice is holding my mom." Kate said.

"How?" Luke asked.

"We call her bluff. Use one of her minions to send a message to her, demanding real, video proof that she has my mom. Once she does, since there's no way she'll turn down a challenge from me, Luke, you can trace the communication to at least give us a place to start looking." Kate said.

"Okay, so let's do it." Helena said and Luke nodded in agreement.

"We'll start hunting tonight after work." Kate said and they both nodded their agreement as Helena walked away, but Kate stopped Luke from following.

"What's up?" Luke asked.

"I've been thinking about maybe restoring Helena's memories. It isn't fair to her if we have information that could be useful, but we can't tell her the source." Kate said.

"I get that. But Kate, you have to remember that Helena was a different person in the old reality." Luke said.

"I know, but there's still a chance that remembering her life here could help sway her decision. But before I do anything, I'll call Oliver Queen, since he knows the old world Helena better than either of us do." Kate said and Luke nodded in agreement of that as they left the batcave as well.


	25. Chapter 25

"Okay, so I go out of town for one week and I miss all the action?" Helena asked as she entered Kate's office to find Kate and Luke talking.

"Sorry, but things moved too quickly for me to call you." Kate said.

"It's fine, but still, not only are your dad and Alice behind bars, but your mom, who is my dad's sister and my aunt, is alive and at Gotham General Hospital." Helena said.

"Yeah, that's why I'm glad you're back, since I'm gonna need you to take the reins here for a while." Kate said.

"What are you talking about?" Helena asked.

"Ever since I got back from Central City, I have been swamped by phone calls from authorities regarding the situations with all of my family members." Kate said.

"What about?" Luke asked.

"My mom is probably the easiest case, since she actually told me that she wants to go to a rehab center, since she's already aware that she can't move past what she went through alone, but there's the matter of finding the right place and running background checks on all the staff and finding her a good therapist." Kate said.

"Yeah normally that should be easy, but considering how many of Batman's enemies started out as doctors, I don't blame you for wanting to be thorough in finding one for your mom, since she's been through enough." Helena said.

"Agreed. And I'm also having to deal with the press and the authorities regarding both my dad and my sister's arrest, since word has leaked that Alice is my sister, so yeah, there's also that. So between that and protecting the city, I don't really have time to run the company right now." Kate said.

"Don't worry, I will take the reins here and I promise I won't try to knock you out of the company." Helena said.

"Great, it's just temporary until things calm down a bit." Kate said as Mary entered the office.

"Mary, what are you doing here?" Kate asked.

"I just wanted to see if you still considered us sisters." Mary said.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

"Well, since your mom is still alive, she and your dad were still married, since we thought she was dead, so he never filed for divorce, which means that our parents were never legally married." Mary said.

"Mary, of course we are still sisters. You know I've never really given a damn about what the law says before, so why would I start now?" Kate assured her.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Mary asked.

"I'm putting Helena in charge of Kane Industries while I deal with everything going on with my family, between my mom's rehab and dealing with the press regarding both of the other members of the Kane family going to prison." Kate said.

"Do you need any help with any of that?" Mary asked.

"Actually, you probably know more about the doctor scene, any chance you could help with the therapist search." Kate asked.

"Yeah, of course. I'm hoping your mom can set a better example than mine is." Mary said.

"Once she's out of rehab, I'm sure she will be." Kate said.

"So, what exactly is your plan? Cause you know there's about a hoard of reporters outside the building right now right?" Mary asked.

"I am aware. But I'm not saying anything until tomorrow, since that's when I've scheduled an actual press conference to not only officially name Helena temporary CEO, but also give my statement on these matters." Kate said.

"Wow, you actually almost sound like a real CEO." Helena said.

"Shut up." Kate said with a smile as they all laughed.


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, Kate was standing outside Kane Tower where all the press was gathered.

"Thank you all for coming. I know a lot of you had been waiting to hear my reactions to the latest news regarding the events of my family. First off, in regards to my mother, I am very grateful to Batwoman and Supergirl for rescuing her and bringing Alice to justice. My mother is in recovery now and I want to make it very clear that if any members of the press attempt to interrogate her, well, I hope whatever company you work for has good lawyers." Kate said.

"Ms. Kane, what are your thoughts on the arrest of your father?" one of the reporters said and Kate sighed.

"There was a time when I would have defended my father's actions. But that time is gone. I am disgusted by the man my father has become, willing to put innocent lives in danger in order to try and kill the very people who are trying to protect not only this city, but this country and this planet. Especially considering it was Supergirl who saved my mother, his wife, when he failed to." Kate said.

"Ms. Kane, what about the rumors that Alice is actually your thought to be dead sister, Beth Kane?" another reporter asked and Kate sighed.

"As much as I'd like to deny that, I figure since you already know about my father, no point in denying the truth. Yes, Alice is my sister, but that does not mean I support her or the decisions she's made. Alice is a very sick individual, though I hope that the doctors at Arkham will be able to help her and maybe even bring my sister back to the surface someday." Kate said.

"Ms. Kane, what is your plan to deal with these events?" another reporter asked.

"Well first off, in order to better help my mother adjust to these events and better deal with the fallout of my father and sister's crimes, I am temporarily stepping down as CEO of Kane Industries and handing the reins over to my cousin Helena Wayne, who will be acting as CEO until I return." Kate said, gesturing to her cousin, who was standing on the stage with her.

"What will happen to your father's agency, the crows?" the first reporter asked and Kate had honestly been waiting for that question.

"I'm so glad you asked about that. As I'm sure everyone is aware, due to my father's actions, the Crows are near bankrupt, due to the fact that nearly every one of their clients no longer wants to be associated with them. That is why as of this morning, Kane Industries are the new owners of the Crows." Kate said with a grin as questions broke out.

"I'm sure you all have plenty of questions, but you can direct them to the agent I have selected to run the Crows for me, Commander Sophie Moore." Kate said as she moved to the side as Sophie joined her and Helena up on stage.

"Thank you Ms. Kane. I'm sure that the people of this city are hesitant to trust the Crows, especially given the previous regime, but Ms. Kane, Ms. Wayne and I have all agreed on a new structure. From now on, the Crows will be specialized in protecting the more lower class parts of the city, though we will continue our current service to paying clients, but now that money, plus the funding from Kane Industries will be used to help us protect the entirety of Gotham, not just the rich." Sophie said.

"Ms. Moore, what is your stance on Batwoman?" a reporter asked her.

"While vigilantism will not be tolerated, I do not count Batwoman as a vigilante, she is a hero. She's proven that to me and to the people of this city. As long as she remains that way, I hope that in the future, we can build a relationship between Batwoman and the Crows." Sophie said.


	27. Chapter 27

Jacob Kane was currently sitting in his cell at Blackgate, furious at the news conference he'd seen on TV earlier in the common room.

His daughter, his own daughter, was actually praising vigilantes and denouncing him. And she was changing the Crows, the organization he'd founded, and actually intended for them to work with the same maniac who put him in here, when he should be back at the Crows, hunting down Batwoman and helping Gabi recover from the ordeal she'd been through. The only thing he truly took any comfort in was that Alice was also behind bars.

He was drawn from his thoughts when he heard someone knock on the bars of his cell and he turned to see a guard standing outside his cell.

"Can I help you with something?" Jacob asked.

"No, actually, I wanted to give you this. A little token from one of your admirers." the guard said as he covertly slid a bag of big belly burger through the bars and into his cell.

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked as he took the bag.

"There are those of us here who think that locking you up is a mistake. You're what Gotham needs, someone to protect it from these vigilantes, who think they know best." the guard said as Jacob opened it up.

"Well, there isn't much we can about it right now." Jacob said.

"Maybe not, but maybe you can get the occasional perk, like real food instead of the slop they serve here." the guard said.

"Thank you. Never thought I'd be someone who'd take something like this, but then again, never thought my city would turn on me and want me to be locked up either." Jacob said.

"Just make sure that you get rid of the bags before anyone sees it, or we could all get in trouble." the guard said and Jacob nodded as he began eating his burger and sighed in relief at the taste of real food entering his mouth.

Alice smiled when she entered the common room in Arkham and rushed over to Mouse.

"Hello my little Mouse. We're finally together again." Alice said with a grin as she hugged him.

"The plan was for us to reunite outside of Arkham." Mouse reminded her.

"I know. But circumstances change. And maybe this is better for us." Alice said.

"What do you mean?" Mouse asked.

"Well, for starters, now I don't have to keep trying to break you out from the outside. Now that we're together again, we can use your particular set of skills to be able to walk right out the front door." Alice said and Mouse grinned as she continued to tell him her new plans.

"Hey mom, how are you feeling?" Kate asked as she entered her mother's hospital room.

"Getting damn tired of being poked and prodded by needles and having morphine being pumped through my system, I've had enough drugs to last a lifetime." Gabi said and Kate chuckled.

"Well, your discharge is tomorrow." Kate said.

"But I'm not going home to your apartment yet am I?" Gabi asked and Kate sighed.

"You're not. Mom, I wish you could, but you were held captive for 15 years. I saw the scratches on your wrists. You need more help than I can give you." Kate said.

"I know. I'd be surprised if you didn't lock me up in a rehab place." Gabi said.

"You're not going to be locked up. I've found a great place for you. You'll get to spend plenty of time outside, get real food to eat and I'll visit you whenever I can." Kate said.

"Kate, I still won't be able to leave the property until someone deems that I am mentally stable enough to interact with society." Gabi said.

"Which is why I picked a place that does allow you to make visits home once a month, as long as you have a clean record so they can see how well you interact with the rest of the world. I promise, I'm not going to just lock you up like I did the rest of our family." Kate said.

"Kate, you don't have to sound so pleased about that." Gabi said.

"They both tried to kill me and this city." Kate said.

"I have no words to defend your father, but Kate, please don't write your sister off so easily." Gabi said.

"Mom, how can you defend her. She held you captive for years, she drugged you." Kate said.

"Alice did that, not Beth." Gabi said.

"Beth is gone. Alice is all that's left." Kate said.

"If that were true, I wouldn't be alive or I'd at least be more injured. But here I am, not physically injured except for my own self inflicted injuries." Gabi said.

"You think Beth is still alive somewhere inside of Alice." Kate said.

"I do. And I think that now that she's locked up in Arkham, you have a chance to get through to her." Gabi said.

"I've tried talking to her. She won't listen to a thing I've said." Kate said.

"Because you've confronted her as an enemy. Maybe try approaching her as a sister." Gabi said.

"I'll think about it." Kate said, not wanting to argue about this anymore.

"Have you called Bruce yet. I'd love to see my brother's son." Gabi said.

"I called him, haven't heard back yet. Though I'm sure that if anything is going to bring him back to Gotham, it'll be this." Kate said.

"Yes, I'm sure knowing I'm alive will take some weight off his shoulders." Gabi said with a smile as Kate's eye widened.

"You know?" Kate asked.

"Once I pieced together who you are, it wasn't hard to put together, considering how similar you and Bruce are." Gabi said and Kate smiled at her.

"I'll let him know that you know. I'm sure that will definitely hasten his return to Gotham." Kate said and Gabi smiled as she and Kate resumed talking.


	28. Chapter 28

Kate was on her way back towards her apartment when her phone rang.

"Luke, what's going on?" Kate asked.

"Remember how we decided to put the members of the unholy cabal under surveillance?" Luke asked.

"Yeah why?" Kate asked, though she was already changing directions to get her suit and she made a mental note to take her suit to Cisco to see if he could make her one of those rings for heroes that way she could cut out the extra trip.

"Well, I think the Executioner might be making his first move." Luke said.

"Which bastard is he going after first." Kate asked.

"Same one he did last time. Stanton." Luke said.

"I'm on my way in now. Have a location ready for me to go." Kate said.

"You got it." Luke said.

"See you soon." Kate said.

"Looking forward to watching you kick the executioner's ass again." Luke said.

"Actually, I'm hoping to avoid an ass kicking." Kate said.

"Who are you and what have you done with Kate Kane?" Luke asked.

"What I mean is that killing Stanton and the others, that's letting them off too easily. I say we send them all to Blackgate and let them rot there among all the people they wrongfully sentenced there as well. I have a feeling that will be more than punishment enough." Kate said.

"Okay, that sounds more like you." Luke acknowledged and Kate rolled her eyes.

Angus Stanton was on his way out to his car when he barely managed to dodge an electrical pole that did hit his car.

"What the hell? This thing was brand new?" Angus demanded, pissed off.

"Angus Stanton." a strange voice said and Stanton turned to see a man dressed like an old timey executioner standing next to a fire hydrant, holding an axe.

"Did you do this?" Stanton asked.

"Be lucky it wasn't your skull I sliced open." the man said.

"Who are you?" Stanton asked.

"I'm the Executioner." The Executioner said.

"Catchy name. But what do you want?" Stanton asked.

"For you to pay for you crimes." Executioner said.

"What are you talking about? I'm a member of the DA's office. I put criminals behind bars." Stanton said.

"And how many of those criminals were actually guilty?" Executioner questioned.

"Why do you care? Even if they weren't guilty of what I charged them with, I'm sure they were guilty of something." Stanton said.

"You rich, entitled bastard. This city needs saving from scum like you. I am your judge. I am your jury. I am your Executioner and you, Angus Stanton, have been found guilty. Time to face your sentence." Executioner shouted as he brought his axe down, but before it could hit the fire hydrant, it was knocked astray by a batarang as Batwoman swung in to save the day.

"Stand down." Batwoman said.

"Of course you're defending him. You don't even know what he's done." Executioner said.

'"I know a bit more than you think. I know about him and his little cabal with Donnelly and Calverick." Batwoman said.

"And yet you still defend him? Why?" Executioner demanded.

"I'm stopping you to defend him. I'm stopping you because killing him would be letting him off too easily. He and the others need to be caged with those they sentenced. After all, the ones they wronged should be the ones who dole out punishment don't you think? Look, you will go to prison for this, but right now, it's only attempted murder, that means there's a chance you could get your freedom someday, though you might need to get mental help, but if you kill him, then that's it. You're just the next innocent man Angus Stanton turned into a criminal." Batwoman said.

"I'm already a criminal." Executioner said as he removed his hood to reveal the face of Bertrand Eldon.

"I was Blackgate's executioner. I pulled the switch on countless people, most of whom turned out to be innocent. That man and his colleagues turned me into a murderer." Eldon said.

"Maybe so. But you had no control over that. But now you have a choice. There is enough blood on your hands as it is. Right now, every death you've caused can simply be attributed to you trying to do your job. But this, this is cold blooded murder. Do you really want that on your conscience?" Batwoman asked as she took the axe away from him.

"I just wanted him to pay." Eldon said.

"And he will. They all will." Batwoman said as she fired her grappling hook behind her and trapped him trying to flee Stanton and pulled him towards her.

"Time to pay for your crimes." Batwoman said as she knelt down in front of him, savoring every minute of this, since this time, no one was dying and justice was still being served.


	29. Chapter 29

The following morning, Kate was surprised when she entered her office to find someone else waiting for her.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" Kate asked, only to calm down slightly when she saw who it was.

"Well, considering this used to be my office, I got in pretty easily through my secret entrance." Bruce Wayne said, actually smiling at his stunned cousin.

"Bruce." Kate said.

"Hello Kate. Long time no see." Bruce said, only to have his cousin walk up to him and punch him in the jaw.

"I deserve that." Bruce said.

"You deserve worse. You were so caught up in your own little pity party that you left Gotham to rot." Kate said.

"You're right." Bruce said, surprising her.

"What?" Kate asked, having fully expected him to defend himself.

"You're right, I did abandon Gotham and that's part of why I was gone for so long. I didn't want to come back and face what I had done. But, it's clear that my leaving was for the best." Bruce said.

"How can you say that?" Kate asked.

"Because you, my dear cousin, have made a far better Bat than I ever did." Bruce said.

"What are you talking about, you're the original Bat. You're Batman." Kate said.

"Maybe so, but Kate, you've done things even I couldn't. You figured out that your mom and Beth were alive and you found them. Which is another reason I'm here." Bruce said.

"Oh, by the way, mom knows you're Batman, just like she knows I'm Batwoman, so you can apologize to her when you see her." Kate said and Bruce nodded, deciding not to question it.

"I'd apologize to Beth too, but I don't want one of Gotham's most wanted to know who I am." Bruce said.

"Speaking of, Tommy Elliot knows you're Batman and he's in Arkham with my crazy sister." Alice said.

"Wait what? Why is Tommy in Arkham?" Bruce asked.

"Because he's insane. Luke and I did some digging and found out that he's the one who was behind his parents' car accident, since he wanted to kill them and claim his inheritance." Kate said.

"So I guess that would make him more than a little angry that I saved his mother's life." Bruce said.

"Yeah, he stole your railgun, which should have been stored in the Batcave, not in your warehouse by the way." Kate said.

"Yeah, not my best idea, but I'm assuming you dealt with him?" Bruce asked.

"Like I said, he's in Arkham. Now we just have to hope that he isn't telling every other maniac in there your identity." Kate said.

"Let's hope. But at least there's one enemy I don't have to worry about learning my identity anymore." Bruce said.

"Helena told me about the Joker. He had it coming Bruce. I would've done the same thing. The question is, how long are you going to let what you did drag you down?" Kate asked and Bruce looked at her in surprise.

"When did you get so well adjusted and all knowing?" Bruce asked.

"I know a guy." Kate said vaguely.

"Okay then. Anyways, I'm not sure I'm ready to put that suit back on and to be honest, I'm not sure I need to, since it's clear that Gotham is in good hands with you protecting it." Bruce said.

"Okay well, why are you here?" Kate asked.

"To tell my cousin how proud I am of her and also to see my aunt and check in on my daughter." Bruce said.

"Well you're out of luck on that one. Helena's out of town, officially on a CEO trip in Keystone." Kate said.

"Okay and what is she really doing there?" Bruce asked.

"She got a lead on Frank Bertinelli, she went to check it out." Kate said.

"Well, I can stick around for a few days, I'll just have to remain under the radar." Bruce said.

"Yeah no offense, but Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham is about as big as news of Oliver Queen returning from the dead. Meaning major media attention." Kate said.

"I see your point. But there is another reason I'm here." Bruce said.

"Really. I can think of at least a dozen different reasons why, so please, feel free to enlighten me." Kate said.

"I'm also here to figure out who really killed Lucius, since honestly, this is something I should've figured out before I left. The pieces fell into place too perfectly, I should've suspected something and now an innocent man could be suffering. Several innocent people could've." Bruce said.

"And now you can help us make sure that they all find justice. Which is good, because I've got enough on my plate as it is. That's why I've started delegating, putting Helena in charge of Kane Industries and giving Sophie free reign of the Crows. With mom back, I need to be able to focus on helping her and also protecting Gotham as Batwoman, but Luke and I have also had another goal." Kate said.

"And what might that be?" Bruce asked.

"Tracking down Dr. August Cartwright. He's the psychopath who held my mom prisoner and caused Beth to become Alice in the first place." Kate said.

"I'll see if I can help with that. I owe it to you and your family." Bruce said.

"You're forgetting your dad and my mom are siblings. She's your family too." Kate said and Bruce smiled.

"I'm surprised you haven't yelled at me for not saving them." Bruce said.

"If this was when I first became Batwoman, I probably would've, but now I realize that you punished yourself enough, knowing that you failed to save your aunt and cousin. Besides, you did everything you could. You're not Clark Kent." Kate said with a smile.

"What does Clark Kent have to do with anything?" Bruce asked.

"Oh please, I know he's Superman, I've met him myself and I'm actually pretty close with his own cousin, they'll be happy to see you." Kate said and Bruce chuckled.

"That sounds like him." Bruce said before the both went into the cave.


	30. Chapter 30

The following day, Gabi Kane was finally released from the hospital and Kate had decided to give her mother a day of freedom before she had to go into rehab, since she'd been held captive for years, she deserved a day of freedom before she was put into another form of captivity.

Which was why she was leading her mom into her new penthouse.

"This is a nice place." Gabi said as she entered her daughter's penthouse.

"Yeah, I let Mary have the old penthouse and renovated this place to use as my own. Luke Fox personally oversaw all the security on it, it's one of the safest residences in Gotham." Kate said.

"Even though it'll only be for one night, I look forward to sleeping here." Gabi said and Kate smiled.

"Mom, you know that going to this rehab place is the best move for you. As much as we both wish that it wasn't necessary, we've both been to a military academy, we both know the potential after effects of what you went through. You need more help than I can give you." Kate said.

"I know that Kate. But still, that doesn't mean I have to be thrilled about it." Gabi said.

"Look at it this way. The sooner you start, the sooner you can be done with it." Kate said, right as there was a knock on the door, causing Gabi to jump slightly.

"It's okay mom. I already know who it is and they're not a threat. To us anyway." Kate said as she opened the door and Gabi immediately relaxed when she saw who it was.

"Bruce." Gabi said as she saw her nephew, who appeared to be frozen at the sight of her.

"Aunt Gabi." Bruce said.

"Well, what are you waiting for, come give your aunt a hug." Gabi said and Bruce smiled as he walked up and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry I didn't save you." Bruce said.

"Bruce, you did everything you could to try and save Beth and I and you did manage to save Kate. You can't save them all. You're not Superman and even he can't save everyone." Gabi said.

"I know, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept." Bruce said.

"I heard that you left Gotham. What brought you back and why did you leave?" Gabi asked.

"The answer to your first question is you. The moment Kate called me and told me that she found you, alive, I knew I had to see you. And then when Kate told me that you'd figured out both of our identities, I knew I needed to apologize for failing to save you and Beth." Bruce said.

"Well, even though it wasn't your fault, I forgive you." Gabi said.

"Thank you, but regardless of what anyone says, I'll always blame myself for what happened and for what Beth became." Bruce said.

"Bruce, I struggled with that myself for a while after I first discovered who Alice was. But all that does is give her power over us, even when she's in prison. She even tried to use my guilt against me. But in the end, the people responsible for what her creation are Dr. Cartwright, for pushing her to the point that she broke and Alice herself for the choices she made afterwards." Kate said and Bruce nodded, deep down knowing that Kate was right.

"Now, what about my other question?" Gabi asked.

"The reason I left." Bruce said and Gabi nodded.

"I broke my code. 5 years ago, the Joker and I fought and I won. Because I killed him." Bruce said.

"You killed him?" Gabi asked as Bruce turned away, too ashamed to look at either of them.

"I'd been fighting him from the beginning. Every time I put him away, he got out again. He's the one who ran you off the road. Then, the way he taunted me the last time we fought, I snapped and I killed him. I did the one thing I swore never to do. I killed him. And then after that, I didn't feel like I deserved to protect Gotham after what I did, I felt like a fraud. So I left." Bruce said as he felt Kate place her hand on his shoulder.

"Bruce, he left you no choice. And honestly, out of all your enemies, he was the one I think we all knew that it would only end when one of you was dead. And I prefer it being him over you." Kate said.

"She's right. Besides, I actually feel a little safer knowing that the man who started everything I went through can never hurt anyone again." Gabi said.

"While I know you're both right, I still can't help but feel like I should've found another way, like I still let the Joker win when I killed him, because in a way, he did kill Batman that night." Bruce said.

"Then maybe it's time to stop letting him win and bring Batman back to life. Maybe not in Gotham, but there are other cities who need him." Kate said.

"I'll think about it." Bruce said as they continued talking, including making plans about what they were going to do on Gabi's day before rehab.


	31. Chapter 31

The following day found Kate taking her mother to rehab.

"I really wish this wasn't necessary." Kate said as she pulled into the parking lot of the facility.

"I know Kate. So do I. But this is what's best. This way I can get the help I need and you can put your full focus into protecting the city and running your company. And you can visit me whenever you want and soon we'll be together again." Gabi said as she hugged her daughter.

"I promise I'll visit as often as I can. I lost you once. I can't lose you again." Kate said as Gabi smiled.

"You won't lose me again." Gabi said as she and Kate hugged before getting out of the car.

After checking her mom in and helping her move in, Kate got back in her car and actually had to wipe a few tears from her eyes as she noticed her phone ringing.

"What is it Luke?" Kate asked.

"We just got a little visit from Magpie." Luke said, getting Kate's attention.

"Of all the times for her to decide to show up, it's when Bruce is town. Did she take anything?" Kate asked, hoping in vain that the answer would be no.

"You already know the answer to that. She took the necklace. Again." Luke said.

"Crap. Does Bruce know?" Kate asked.

"Oh he knows and he is pissed." Luke said.

"Great, just great. Can you please try and keep him from suiting up until I get there." Kate said.

"Don't worry, he's agreed to wait. For now, but I don't know how long that will last. Especially since he knows where the suit we didn't turn into yours is." Luke said.

"Okay, here's the plan, call Helena, tell her to get her ass back to Gotham now, this is an all hands on deck situation, not to mention I'm sure she'll want some quality time with her dad. I'm going to stop at the Crows, tell Sophie what's going on and to make finding her a top priority." Kate said.

"Copy that." Luke said as Kate hung up, wondering why this had to happen now. Why couldn't Magpie wait until after Bruce had left again to pay Kane Tower a visit.

"Kate, what a surprise." Sophie said when she saw her boss enter Crows HQ.

"Sadly, this is not a social call." Kate said.

"Okay then, what's going on?" Sophie asked.

"After I dropped my mom off at rehab, I got a call from Luke, saying that Magpie broke into my office and stole my aunt Martha's necklace." Kate said.

"Okay, if finding her wasn't top priority before, it is now." Sophie said.

"Great, especially since her timing could not be worse." Kate said.

"Meaning?" Sophie asked.

"My cousin is in town." Kate said.

"Wait, Bruce Wayne is back in Gotham?" Sophie asked.

"Yes and he'd like to keep it under wraps for the moment, since he came here to see my mom after I called and told him about it. And he knows that his mother's necklace was stolen and he is not happy about it." Kate said.

"Okay yeah, I've heard the stories about what an unhappy Bruce Wayne means, so we'll get to work on this immediately." Sophie said.

"Thank you. I need to get back to Kane Tower." Kate said as she headed out of the building.


	32. Chapter 32

"It's about time." Bruce said when Kate entered the Batcave.

"Sorry, but I was stopping at the Crows to let Sophie know, since we need to use every asset we've got at our disposal, including them." Kate said.

"Wait, the Crows aren't a problem for you?" Bruce asked.

"They haven't been since I sent my dad to prison, bought the Crows and put Sophie in charge." Kate said.

"It helps that Sophie knows that Kate's Batwoman and she's agreed to keep it secret." Luke said.

"Okay, it seems like luck is definitely more on your side than it is mine, since one of the biggest problems I had was trying to protect the city while also having to contend with the Crows." Bruce said.

"It's because my dad hates competition, especially when he knows that the Bat does more good for Gotham than the Crows." Kate said.

"Or at least they did before you changed things, since now you and Sophie are changing the Crows so that they now protect the entire city and having their exclusive protection is like a premium service." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"It also helps that the new leader of the Crows wants to sleep with Batwoman." Helena said with a smile as she entered the Batcave.

"How did you get back here so fast?" Kate asked, trying to move attention off of what Helena just said.

"I was already on my way back to Gotham when I got your call. Man, Magpie is really pushing her luck." Helena said.

"Tell me about it. Please tell me that you put a GPS tracker on it." Kate said to Bruce.

"Considering the lengths I had to go to in order to get it back in the first place, I did, but it looks like Magpie was smart enough to find and disable it." Bruce said.

"Okay then. So what's the plan boss?" Helena asked, making it clear that she was talking to Kate and not her father.

"Luke, can you access GCPD's database and pull everything they have on Magpie's case? Past targets, forensics, basically anything you can on her." Kate asked.

"I'm insulted you have to ask." Luke said as he hacked into the police's online archives, since even though both he and Kate knew where she'd been based before, there was a chance that she was operating somewhere else in this reality.

"What exactly are you hoping to find?" Bruce asked.

"I want to see if we can find any kind of pattern that can be used to narrow down our search, since if we just search Gotham blindly, we'll just end up wasting time." Kate said.

"Why don't you reach out to Sophie, see if she'll give us access to the Crow's database, since they probably have more information than the GCPD does." Helena said.

"Actually, that might not be necessary." Kate said, wondering why she hadn't thought of this before.

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"One of the perks of being the owner of the Crows is that I have my own login to the Crows database." Kate said.

"Just another reason to be glad we took down your father." Luke said.

"Wait, you should rig the system to conceal Kate's access from the Crows server so no one can trace it back to us." Bruce said.

"On it." Luke said as he got to work before allowing Kate to enter her login credentials.

"Okay, now we are in the Crows files and I have to admit, it went a lot faster since I didn't have to hack my way through the firewalls." Luke said.

"Okay, Bruce, since I know you're itching to get out there, why don't you suit up and start searching manually, I will stay here with Luke and keep tabs on the Crow's search, Helena, suit up and reach out to your contacts in the criminal underworld, since I refuse to believe that in your search for Frank Bertinelli you don't have any, see if any of them can help point us in the right direction." Kate said.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll head out at nightfall, since I don't want Gotham to know that Batman is back yet, especially since he's not staying, simply because he's not needed. I'm only suiting up because this is personal for me." Bruce said and Kate nodded as she watched her cousins leave.

"So, when are you gonna check to see if Magpie is hiding out in the same place she was before?" Luke asked.

"In about an hour, make it seem believable that we found something." Kate said and Luke nodded, right as the monitors beeped.

"I think you might have something else to focus on in the meantime." Luke said.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Someone's waiting for you in your office." Luke said as he pulled security footage to show Mary standing in her office.

"What's Mary doing here?" Kate asked.

"I don't know, but you should go find out." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"Let me know if something comes up." Kate said and Luke nodded as Kate headed out to take the garage exit.

"Kate, there you are." Mary said to her stepsister when Kate entered her own office.

"Mary, not that it isn't good to see you, but could you please call first?" Kate asked.

"I was hoping I could surprise you." Mary said.

"I hate surprises." Kate said.

"Right sorry, but I was hoping that maybe we could go get lunch, since honestly, we haven't spent much time together since you came back." Mary said.

"Look Mary, I wish I could, but I don't have time. Now that my mom's in rehab, I need to start catching up on the work I've missed, not to mention the fact that the newest crazy Magpie broke in and stole my Aunt Martha's necklace." Kate said.

"I swear, it feels like no one has any time for me anymore. Am I really that unimportant?" Mary asked.

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked.

"Are you forgetting that you're not the only one with a parent facing criminal charges? My mom is facing charges of corruption, not to mention the fact that the city is starting to blame her for creating Alice." Mary said and now Kate was feeling guilty.

"Mary, I'm so sorry. Things have just been moving so fast lately and I guess things just fell through the cracks. Look, I'm busy dealing with this theft, but once it's resolved, why don't we have sister night?" Kate asked and Mary smiled.

"Sounds great and Kate, I get it, I just don't want you to forget that you still have some family you can count on." Mary said and Kate smiled at her.

"I know. But thank you for reminding me anyways." Kate said.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work." Mary said and Kate nodded as she surprised Mary by actually hugging her before watching her sister walk out of the office and then once she was sure Mary was gone, heading back towards the Batcave.


	33. Chapter 33

"So, are things all good with Mary?" Luke asked when Kate reentered the Batcave.

"Yeah, they are. But anyways, please tell me you've got a lead on Magpie that I can use to explain how I got a hit on where to find her." Kate asked.

"Maybe, but it will require reaching out to Sophie for some additional help." Luke said.

"What sort of help?" Kate asked.

"We know that the Crows can pull forensics from GCPD, so see if Sophie can get us any remnants from Magpie's grenades that I can then use to trace her location." Luke said and Kate nodded.

"I'll give her a call." Kate said, right as her phone rang and she was surprised to see it was Sophie.

"I was literally about to call you." Kate said.

"Well, I have a lead on Magpie that I thought you might want to move on." Sophie said.

"I'm listening." Kate said.

"I just got forensics back on Magpie's grenades and it appears that they are homemade." Sophie said.

"How?" Kate asked.

"She used explosive ink to 3D print them. I'm sending you a list of all known shipments of said ink." Sophie said as Kate's phone buzzed.

"Got it. Thanks." Kate said.

"You can thank me by agreeing to go out to dinner with me once this is over." Sophie said, surprising Kate.

"Are you asking me out?" Kate asked.

"Kate, do I really have to answer that?" Sophie asked.

"If there's any chance I'm going to agree to this, I need to hear you say it out loud. And I think that you need to hear yourself say it too." Kate said as she heard Sophie sigh.

"Will you go out with me Kate?" Sophie asked.

"It was totally worth hearing you say that and yes I will." Kate said as she hung up.

"Okay, what was that about?" Luke asked.

"That was Sophie both giving us a list of all known shipments of explosive ink and she asked me to get dinner with her." Kate said.

"Wait, she asked you out?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I think that she might finally be getting ready to come out and if she is, then this might be a relationship I can actually do since unlike with Reagan, I don't have to keep secrets from Sophie. At least about being Batwoman. She can never know about Crisis." Kate said.

"On that we agree. The fewer people who know about that mess, the better." Luke agreed as he pulled up the list and found it was the same PO box as before.

"Okay, I'm going to go confirm the location, once I do, have Bruce and Helena meet me there." Kate said as she moved to suit up and Luke nodded.

"So, how did you find this place?" Huntress asked as she met Batwoman at the inn Magpie was using as a base.

"Sophie gave Luke and I a lead on how Magpie was making her grenades, we traced it to a PO box and I convinced the guy at the facility to give me this location." Batwoman said.

"Do I even want to know how you convinced him to do that?" Huntress asked.

"I let the guy take a selfie." Batwoman said and Huntress actually chuckled.

"Seriously?" Huntress asked with a laugh.

"What, you and Batman never posed for selfies?" Batwoman asked as they heard someone approach them.

"No we did not." Batman said as he approached them.

"I see your suit still fits." Batwoman said.

"Yeah, I have to admit, I did miss how it feels." Batman admitted.

"Anyways, let's get moving, Magpie could be back at any minute." Huntress said.

"Too late, I already am." A new voice said and the three of them turned to see Magpie standing on a perch.

"Did you really think I wouldn't outfit this entire place with motion detectors?" Magpie asked.

"That's new." Batwoman said under breath.

"3 against one, you really think you can beat us?" Huntress asked.

"I think you've miscounted. Don't you know magpies travel in parliaments?" Magpie asked as several hired goons approached.

"Okay, this is also new." Batwoman said to herself.

"I thought you were a solo act?" Huntress asked.

"I was, but then I heard that both Bats and the Huntress were on my tail, thought it might be useful to get some extra muscle." Magpie said.

"Fair enough. Now let's get this over with." Batwoman said as they engaged the thugs, who were honestly outmatched and before Magpie could get away, Batwoman used her grappling hook to restrain her.

"That was easy." Huntress said.

"Her thugs clearly weren't up to the task. Call the Crows, let them know we've caught Magpie." Batwoman said to Luke over the comms.

"They're already en route." Luke said.

"Great. You sticking around?" Batwoman asked her cousin.

"No. I don't want people to think I'm back for good, since I'm no longer Gotham's hero. You two are." Batman said as he walked towards the room all of Magpie's stolen goods were in, including his mother's necklace.


	34. Chapter 34

"Good news Gotham. Magpie is on her way to Arkham thanks to the efforts of Batwoman and the Huntress, as claimed by the new head of the Crows herself Sophie Moore. I don't know about the rest of you, but if the Crows are now working with the Bat, I feel a lot safer now. This is a stark contrast with the failed leadership of convicted felon Jacob Kane.

In other news, the crazy bird Magpie claims that Batwoman wasn't the only bat in Gotham tonight. That's right people, the first real sighting of Batman came in last night. However, given who made it, I personally think Batwoman hit her a bit too hard in the head, since I doubt Batman would have the guts to show back up in Gotham after he ghosted us 5 years ago. But hey, that's just me." Vesper Fairchild said over the radio.

"Thank god, someone else shares my view on that." Kate said with a grin.

"Seriously Kate?" Bruce asked, though he was grinning.

"What, you did ghost the city, are you really surprised that there are people who think that part of the reason you haven't come back is because you don't have the guts to face the city." Kate said.

"She's got a point dad." Helena agreed.

"Well, normally I'd be pissed, but in this case, it keeps the city from getting it's hopes up that Batman is back, since it has two other protectors and if the people think Batman is back, then they'll start to root for me, when honestly, I think I should get going." Bruce said.

"Wait what?" Helena asked and Bruce smiled at his daughter.

"Helena, I will always be there when you or anyone else needs me, but it's clear that Gotham isn't on that list. But there are other cities that do." Bruce said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"What I mean is that ever since I gave up the cape, I've felt something missing in my life and while I know what it is, I didn't want to admit it until last night when I realized that giving up being Batman is not the right way to cope with what I did." Bruce said.

"So does that mean you're taking your suit with you when you leave?" Kate asked.

"It does?" Bruce said and Kate smiled.

"Welcome back to the fight Batman." Kate said as she hugged her cousin.

"Thank you for helping me get back to the fight and for keeping Gotham safe." Bruce said.

"I think that she's doing a better job than you ever did." Helena said.

"Very funny dear." Bruce said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Anyways, Kate, you okay, despite all this, you seem a little off." Luke said.

"Just not sure how I feel about sending my sister another playmate in Arkham." Kate said.

"Kate, one good thing about the Joker breaking out so many times is that every time he did, they then upgraded security." Bruce said.

"I hope that's enough." Kate said.

"On a different note, another thing Vesper said was true, with the Crows actually willing to work with us, Gotham is safer than ever. Too bad Sophie wasn't leading the Crows when Bruce was the bat of Gotham." Luke said.

"Speaking of Sophie, there's something I want to bring up with you guys." Kate said.

"Okay and that would be?" Bruce asked.

"I want to show her the Batcave. I think she's earned the right." Kate said.

"I'm with Kate." Luke said.

"I mean Sophie already knows about our operation, so I don't see any harm in showing her the batcave, she's proven herself." Helena said as all eyes turned to Bruce.

"You sure you wanna do this? Once it's done, it can't be undone." Bruce said.

"I'm aware of that and I'm willing to take the risk." Kate said.

"Then okay. Just wait till after I leave to do it." Bruce said and Kate nodded.

Alice smirked as she saw the newest inmate of Arkham walk through the door.

"What are you smirking about, young lady?" Dr. Butler asked as he approached her.

"Just thinking of how kind it is of my sister to keep sending me new playmates. She's so generous." Alice said and Dr. Butler smiled.

"Speaking of playmates, I just finished therapy with one of them." Butler said.

"Which one?" Alice asked.

"Tommy Elliot and during treatment, he revealed something very interesting." Butler said.

"Tell me more my little mouse." Alice said and Mouse grinned.

"It would appear that the GCPD got the wrong guy for Lucius Fox's murder. He wouldn't divulge much else to me, but perhaps you can be a bit more persuasive, since we both know that anything involving Lucius Fox must be valuable, considering how much of a genius that man was." Mouse said.

"It'll be my pleasure. Who knows, maybe it will soon be time to put some of these pawns back on the street." Alice said and Mouse grinned as he slipped back into the role of Dr. Butler.

"I'll make sure he's waiting for you in your cell later." 'Dr. Butler' said and Alice nodded as she watched him walk away and she grinned, knowing her plans were working perfectly.


	35. Chapter 35

"Okay, so why did you want me to meet you here?" Sophie asked Kate when she entered the latter's office.

"Because you've finally earned the right to see this." Kate said as she twisted the case containing her aunt Martha's necklace, revealing the secret elevator to the Bat Cave.

"Wait, Kate, is this what I think it is?" Sophie asked in awe.

"Yep. You're about to see something that very few people have ever seen and if you tell anyone about it, well, I will not be held responsible for what happens to you." Kate said.

"Relax, I told you before, I'm not telling anyone about your operation as long as you don't give me a reason to." Sophie assured her.

"Good. Then come with me." Kate said as she stepped into the elevator and Sophie followed her into it as the elevator went down.

"Wow, this place is amazing." Sophie said as she and Kate walked into the Batcave.

"Welcome to the Batcave." Kate said.

"Really, that's the name you came up with for this place?" Sophie asked.

"Actually, I didn't name it that, the original owner did." Kate said.

"Wait, this place was built under Wayne Tower, so if the previous owner was Batman, then that means that Bruce Wayne is Batman." Sophie said.

"Yep and you can't tell anyone that either." Kate said.

"Don't worry I won't. But now I know that the rumors about Batman helping to take down Magpie were true." Sophie said.

"They are, but you won't get to meet him. Dad left Gotham this morning." Helena said as she and Luke entered from a side chamber.

"Wait, what is Helena Wayne doing down here?" Sophie asked.

"You really think I didn't know about my dad's night job?" Helena asked.

"She's actually a member of the team." Kate said.

"You're the Huntress." Sophie said.

"Yeah, kind of surprised you didn't put that together since Huntress and I both left Gotham at the same time and then we both literally came back to Gotham on the same night." Helena said.

"Fair point. But to be fair, I'd only just begun to suspect Kate of being Batwoman back then, so I couldn't exactly think about the Huntress at the time." Sophie said.

"That's fair." Helena said as Sophie turned to Luke.

"What about you? How'd you get wrapped up in this world?" Sophie asked.

"My dad made the original bat suit. He was one of the only people Bruce trusted with his secret and after he died, Bruce brought me in." Luke said.

"Speaking of which, there's something we need to talk to you about." Kate said.

"And that would be?" Sophie asked.

"Ever since we discovered that the cabal that convicted the guy who killed Lucius Fox, we did a little digging and realized that all the pieces fell into place a bit too conveniently." Kate said.

"Wait, you think that Reggie Harris was framed for the murder of Lucius Fox?" Sophie asked.

"We do, but that's something that's better prepared for the Crows to look into instead of us vigilantes." Kate said.

"I agree with that. Especially since it's more likely for people to believe it if it comes from real law enforcement, no offense." Sophie said.

"None taken, we're of the same mind there." Kate said.

"I'll start looking into this personally, since I'm not sure who I can trust to help." Sophie said.

"Actually, I can think of one person who might be able to help you out." Luke said.

"Who?" Sophie asked as Kate sighed.

"The only other person who knows about this operation. Alfred's daughter Julia Pennyworth." Kate said.

"Also known as Kate's ex-girlfriend." Luke said.

"Really." Sophie said, looking at Kate.

"More like a babysitter Bruce sent to check on me while I was traveling." Kate said.

"Kate, my dad was Julia's godfather, I think she has a right to know. Not to mention she's a highly trained spy with contacts that could help us." Luke said and Kate sighed and nodded.

"Okay then, I'll call her." Kate said.


	36. Chapter 36

Kate took a deep breath before she dialed Julia's number.

"Who is this?" Julia's voice asked when she picked up.

"Someone that you owe big time." Kate said.

"Kate Kane, well, I must say this is a surprise, I thought you were still mad at me." Julia said.

"Get your ass to Gotham now and I'll consider us even." Kate said.

"Okay, Kate, you know I can't just drop everything, even to pay a debt." Julia said.

"Julia, this is about Luke's dad." Kate said.

"What about Lucius?" Julia asked.

"I'm assuming that you've figured out who it is running around taking Bruce's place?" Kate asked.

"Yeah I have Batwoman." Julia said.

"Well, we recently discovered that Reggie Harris was framed for Lucius Fox's murder. We need you to help with the investigation to find out who's really behind it." Kate said.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Julia said as she hung up.

"So, is she coming?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah she is. If only to get herself back in my good books." Kate said.

"So what exactly did she do?" Sophie asked.

"The same thing you did." Kate said.

"Wait what?" Sophie asked.

"Julia is the first girl I was with romantically after Point Rock. I thought we had a connection but in reality, she was babysitting me for Bruce and I did not find out in a good way. I've been on the outs with her ever since." Kate said.

"So, you hate it when other people lie to you, but you have no problem lying to them?" Sophie asked, raising an eyebrow, but Kate could tell that she was more amused than anything else.

"It's different. I lie about my identity not just to protect myself, but everyone I care about. My mom, Mary, Luke, Helena, Bruce, you, even my dad." Kate said.

"Even though he wants to kill you and is serving a life sentence for criminal actions?" Sophie asked, since Kate had been the one to put her own father behind bars.

"Oh, I still hate him, but at the same time, he's still my dad, kind of hard to let go of. Though honestly, I'm a bit surprised that Alice hasn't revealed my identity yet." Kate said.

"Wait, your lunatic sister knows you're Batwoman?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, I still don't know how she figured it out." Kate said.

"How did you find out she knows?" Sophie asked.

"She taunted me about mom and I snapped back when I first started. Helena had to stop me from throwing her off the roof." Kate said.

"I don't blame you. But how do you know she won't reveal your identity to every lowlife in Arkham?" Sophie asked.

"She hasn't yet. I have a feeling that if she was going to do that, she would've done so by now. I don't know what she's playing at, but I will admit that a small part of me is hoping that the reason she hasn't exposed my identity is because there's still a trace of Beth buried deep inside that maniac." Kate said.

"You really think that?" Sophie asked.

"If there's one thing I've learned since I became Batwoman, it's that anything is possible. I thought my mom was dead, and yet she's still alive. Granted she's in rehab right now, but that's to be expected. I never thought my dad would be in prison, but he is." Kate said.

"Okay, fair point. Speaking of your mom, when do I get to meet her?" Sophie asked, since she hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Gabi Kane yet.

"Why don't we wait and see how the first date goes before you meet my parents, though I hope you'll understand why I don't want to meet yours." Kate said.

"Don't worry, I don't want my mom to meet you either, though I have to admit, it would be funny to watch you tell her off." Sophie said.

"I can be there when you come out to her for that if you want." Kate offered and Sophie smiled.

"I might take you up on that offer." Sophie said.

"So, have you decided when you're going to come to her?" Kate asked, not impatiently, just curiously.

"Not sure. That isn't a problem for you is it?" Sophie asked.

"No. I get it. Coming out to your friends, that's one thing, but coming out to your mother, especially a woman like your mom, that's kind of impossible. No offense." Kate said.

"None taken." Sophie said.

"I'm just curious, how would your dad react if you came out to him?" Kate asked.

"I don't know. I can't remember too much about him, but I'd like to think that while at first, he'd feel the same way as my mom, but then once he had some time to let it fully sink in, he'd be happy. My mom on the other hand, she's incredibly closed-minded, she'll never consider anyone else's opinion that's not her own. Especially on something like homosexuality." Sophie said.

"No wonder you're so far in the closet." Kate said.

"I'm working my way out. Mainly thanks to you." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"On the topic of the first date, where are we going?" Kate asked, changing the subject and Sophie chuckled.

"I have no idea. Honestly, I don't think we ever really dated at Point Rock, we more just snuck around, made out and had sex with each other." Sophie said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I for one am very proud of how much you learned from all that." Kate said with a smile as she remembered how inexperienced Sophie was the first time they slept together.

"I never said it was a bad thing, but I want something more and I think you do too." Sophie said.

"Of course I do." Kate said as she took Sophie's hand in her own.

"How we get dinner at this great italian place I know." Sophie said.

"It's not Alessandro's is it?" Kate asked.

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"You know the owner there is extremely homophobic right? While I personally have no problems with telling him to go screw himself, I don't think that's the right experience for you to have on your first real date with a girl." Kate said.

"Thank you for that. Any suggestions?" Sophie asked.

"Why don't we go to a club? I think that the people of Gotham need to know that the new head of the Crows has much more of a personality than her predecessor." Kate said.

"Sounds perfect. But I can tell there's something else you want to ask me. Go ahead." Sophie said.

"Well, you might think I'm moving a bit too fast." Kate said.

"What is it?" Sophie asked.

"I'm going to a wedding in Metropolis in a few weeks and I could use a plus one." Kate said.

"You're asking me to actually go on a trip with you to a wedding?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I'd be fine going alone, but I'd prefer not to, especially when a majority of my friends there will likely have dates." Kate said and Sophie smiled.

"Of course I will, but I have to ask, whose wedding are we going to?" Sophie asked before she put the pieces together.

"Wait, you said Metropolis right?" Sophie asked.

"Yep. And keep in mind that I'm Batwoman." Kate said as she smiled as she watched Sophie put the pieces together.

"Wait Kate, are we going to Superman's wedding?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, we are. Still want to go?" Kate asked.

"Uh yeah. But are you sure that they'll be comfortable with me knowing?" Sophie asked.

"I'm sure they won't mind it, but if you want, I can make some calls and make sure they're okay with it." Kate said and Sophie smiled at her gratefully.


	37. Chapter 37

Tommy Elliot groaned when he entered his cell in Arkham to find a certain lunatic waiting for him.

"What are you doing here Alice?" Tommy asked.

"Now, now Tommy, you should be a bit more respectful towards your queen." Alice said with a grin.

"What are you talking about?" Tommy asked.

"Behave yourself and then maybe you'll find out." Alice said elusively.

"What do you want?" Tommy asked.

"To know why you had Lucius Fox killed." Alice said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tommy said.

"We both know that's not true." Alice said.

"Say I did have something to do with whatever it is you're talking about, how would you know?" Tommy asked.

"Like I said, I am queen and the Queen knows everything about her subjects." Alice said.

"You really are delusional." Tommy said and Alice sighed.

"Okay, let's try this another way. I have access to Arkham's surveillance footage which clearly show you confessing to being a part of Fox's murder. Either tell me what I want to know or I can have it released to the GCPD, the Crows and maybe even Batwoman. I imagine that things will become even less pleasant for you." Alice said.

"And how would you be able to do any of that? You may think you're a queen, but you're still just a prisoner." Tommy said.

"Actually, it's amazing what Dr. Butler will tell his favorite patient." Alice said as the man entered the cell.

"And if you don't tell her what she wants to know, you'll find yourself in a much less comfortable position. As in, fit to stand trial, since I hear that being mentally unstable is the only thing keeping you safe from the death sentence." Butler said.

"Since when do you work for her?" Tommy asked.

"You might as well show him, since we can shut him up if he tries to talk." Alice said and Butler nodded as he closed the door and then removed his face to reveal that of Mouse.

"Well that's a neat trick. And it explains a lot." Tommy said.

"It has its advantages." Mouse said.

"Well then, maybe this can work to our mutual advantage." Tommy said.

"I'm listening." Alice said, pleased that it looked like they were getting somewhere.

"I'll keep my mouth shut about this and tell you what you want to know if Dr. Mouse here starts to benefit me the same way he obviously has you." Tommy said and Alice smiled as she looked at her brother, who nodded.

"Sounds like a fair deal to me." Alice said and Mouse nodded his agreement.

"Okay then. I wanted a book that Lucius Fox wrote. I paid a crow who was tasked with protecting me to rough him up for it and it got him killed." Tommy said.

"And why would you want a book written by Lucius Fox?" Alice asked.

"Because it contains a bit of information that's basically the holy grail to everyone in here." Tommy said.

"And that would be?" Mouse asked.

"Instructions for how to kill the Bat." Tommy said and now Alice's grin widened.

"Well then, I think that's something we should get our hands on." Alice said.

"Easier said than done." Tommy warned.

"Why's that?" Mouse asked.

"Even if you do manage to retrieve the book, which while it won't be easy while we're locked in here, also won't be impossible, don't you think that if I could've used the information in the book I would've by now instead of needing to borrow that railgun." Tommy asked.

"So why didn't you?" Alice asked.

"It's written in code that I was unable to find someone to crack." Tommy said.

"Well, that's a problem. But it is one that we will deal with once we have the book in our possession." Alice said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Tommy asked.

"I'll let you know when I figure that out. In the meantime, act as though this conversation never happened, or else you'll find yourself in far worse accommodations than this." Alice said as she and Mouse left Tommy's cell.

"So, should we pick a prisoner to release?" Mouse asked Alice as they sat in his office.

"No. Right now my sister is likely watching me like a hawk. I don't want to risk leaving any clues that could tell Kate of what's happened here. We're only royalty so long as she believes us to be prisoners." Alice said.

"So, how do you plan to get the book?" Mouse asked.

"By killing two birds with one stone. We throw Kate and her team off our trail while also using the same people to acquire the book for us." Alice said.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Mouse asked.

"With a little help from someone the Huntress will not hesitate to drop everything to take down." Alice said.

"Meaning?" Mouse asked.

"Her father of course. I think it's time we make a call to Frank Bertinelli." Alice said and Mouse grinned as he nodded in agreement.


	38. Chapter 38

The next day, while 'Dr. Butler' kept everyone out of his office, Alice picked up the phone and dialed a number she knew by heart, but had never had any reason to use until now.

"Who is this and how did you get this number?" Frank Bertinelli asked when he picked up.

"The one who wants you to join me in Wonderland." Alice said.

"Alice, well, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be allowed a phone while locked up in Arkham." Frank said.

"Well, you know how persuasive I can be." Alice said.

"What do you want Alice?" Frank asked.

"I need your assistance with something." Alice said.

"Forget it. I finally got the Huntress off my trail and I have no intention of doing anything to put her back on it. Still don't know why she's taken such an interest in me." Frank said.

"What if I told you I could not only answer that question, but if you help me, I can give you something that'll allow you to finally end her." Alice said.

"Keep talking." Frank said.

"First, I want to know that you'll do what I ask." Alice said.

"Not until I know what you're offering." Frank said.

"Fine, I'll tell you why the Huntress is after you. Then if you agree to cooperate with me, I'll give you what I promised." Alice said.

"I'm listening." Frank said.

"The Huntress's real name is Helena Wayne." Alice said.

"Okay, but I still don't understand why that brat is after me?" Frank asked.

"Because Wayne is only her adopted her. Her birth name is Helena Bertinelli." Alice said.

"Of course. So, my dear daughter is looking to even the score." Frank said.

"So, now are you interested in what I have to say?" Alice asked.

"Absolutely. What do you need?" Frank asked.

"I don't need you to get me out of here. At least not yet. My plans will work better if for now, the world thinks I'm securely locked up. What I do need is for you to get one of your guys to retrieve something for me." Alice said.

"Okay, and what is it?" Frank asked.

"A book. I'll tell you what's in it once I have it. I need to be sure you won't double cross me." Alice said cautiously.

"Smart. But still, I'm gonna need something to go on to know why I should care about some book?" Frank asked.

"It was written by Lucius Fox and we both know the kind of info he wrote about." Alice said.

"Okay then, I'm sold." Frank said, knowing enough about Lucius Fox to know that whatever was in the journal would be very useful not only to him, but to his organization, since it would allow him to not only retake his old turf in Gotham, which he'd been forced to abandon once the Huntress had started her crusade against him, but also take over other cities.

"Good. I'll provide instructions on how to get the book shortly. However, I would not recommend going yourself." Alice said.

"And I will take that into consideration." Frank said as he hung up.

"So, how much do you want to bet that he's going to ignore you?" Mouse asked as he joined her in the office.

"I'm counting on it. The moment my dear cousin gets word that her dad is in town, she'll become obsessed with putting him away and then Kate will help her, allowing us to have someone else get the book." Alice said.

"So that's why you didn't tell him what was in the book." Mouse said.

"He's nothing more than just a distraction. While Kate and her team focus on him, we'll make our play for the key to killing them all." Alice said and Mouse smiled.

"And what about Tommy Elliot?" Mouse asked.

"Good thing about you being in charge of the place he's locked up in is that you can make his death look like a suicide. He'll only stay alive until we've gotten everything we need from him. After that, it goes back to just being us." Alice said and Mouse smiled.

"If I didn't know better, I'd be worried about you wanting to kill me too." Mouse said.

"Don't be ridiculous, I would never kill you my little mouse. The others are just pawns to be knocked off the chess board when it's convenient, but you, you are the king and I am your queen." Alice said.

"Yes you are. However, you're not the only one with a troublesome family member we have yet to track down." Mouse said.

"Kate and her friends are a bigger concern at the moment. Once she's no longer a problem, I promise we will find your father and if he's still alive, well, we'll fix that." Alice said.

"Just making sure you haven't forgotten." Mouse said.

"I'll never forget the painful death I have planned for him, once he is in my clutches. I'm already thinking about how I'm going to get my revenge for both myself and my mother. Which reminds me, see if you can get Kate to pay me a visit, she's going to help us with that." Alice said.

"What do you mean?" Mouse asked.

"Batwoman is going to find Cartwright and then I'm sure she'll be more than willing to send him to join us here in Arkham, where we will take our slow, grim vengeance upon him." Alice said and Mouse grinned.

"You truly are brilliant." Mouse said, since while his sister had always been clever, he was now marvelling at the tactical brilliance she was showing.

"Well, prison has given me a lot of time to think of ways to up my game to make sure that once we get out of here, we never have to come back." Alice said and her brother grinned as he picked up the phone to begin making arrangements.


	39. Chapter 39

"What do you want Alice?" Kate asked as she picked up the phone on the visitor's side of the glass in Arkham.

"What, no hello sis, how are you doing? I'm sorry for putting you in here?" Alice asked.

"We both know I'm not sorry for that." Kate said.

"Fine, I asked to see you for two reasons." Alice said.

"Be quick." Kate said.

"First one is that I have a request and relax, it's not my freedom." Alice said.

"What do you want?" Kate asked.

"I'm sure you're looking for Dr. August Cartwright, correct?" Alice asked.

"It's on my list." Kate confirmed, since she still owed the bastard for what he did to her mom and sister.

"Well, when you find him, do your best to send him here." Alice said.

"Really, and why would you want that?" Kate asked.

"Everyone knows that the Bat's archenemy is at the top of the food chain here in Arkham and since that's me, I have a bit of power and I'd like to use it to get some payback on the good doctor." Alice said.

"I'll consider it." Kate said and Alice could tell that her sister was genuinely thinking about it.

"Also, I have a warning for you." Alice said.

"What would you be warning me about?" Kate asked.

"I still have ears in the underworld and I've heard that Frank Bertinelli is heading back to Gotham. Thought you'd like to give our dear cousin a heads up." Alice said.

"I don't know you're playing at Alice, but it won't work." Kate said as she got up and walked away.

"Oh but dear Kate, it already has." Alice said with a grin as she laughed and hung up her phone.

"Wait, so you're sure my dad is back in town?" Helena asked after Kate told her and Luke what Alice had told her.

"I don't know. I can't think of why Frank Bertinelli would come back here when he's finally gotten you off his tail, but it is possible Alice knows something that we don't." Kate said.

"Or more likely, this is some kind of diversion to keep us busy while she does whatever it is she's doing." Luke said.

"He has a point. If my dad's fights with the Joker have proven anything it's that being locked up in Arkham doesn't exactly stop them being evil." Helena said.

"Still, we should be sure that this isn't a hoax. If Frank Bertinelli is back in town, we will deal with him. Once and for all." Kate said and Helena smiled at her cousin gratefully, right as Kate's phone rang.

"I need to take this." Kate said as she walked away and answered the call.

"Oliver, it's about time you answered my call." Kate said.

"Yeah sorry, but things have been a bit crazy here in Star City. However, I wish I'd gotten around to it sooner, since it's been brought to my attention that you have the Huntress on your team." Oliver said as Kate looked over at her cousin.

"Helena's a different person on this earth. She wasn't raised by Frank Bertinelli, she was actually raised by my cousin." Kate said.

"That would change things. Instead of being raised by a mob boss, she was raised by Batman." Oliver admitted.

"Anyways, I need to get your opinion on something." Kate said.

"Shoot." Oliver said.

"Do you think I should restore Helena's memories? After all, you probably knew her best in the old reality." Kate said.

"Maybe. The Helena I knew was obsessed with killing her father, but she did mellow out afterwards. It's ultimately your choice, but honestly, I think it would be best if she did remember, since if I've done my homework correctly, she's still searching for her birth father, since then she could remember what she learned after she killed Frank in the old reality." Oliver said.

"I was thinking along the same lines, though it was more because I didn't want to keep secrets from my team, but I wanted to check with the person who knew her best in the old reality first." Kate said.

"That is a smart move. I would've done the same thing, but honestly, I think that this is a case where things will turn out better if she remembers the truth." Oliver said.

"I hope so. And if it backfires, well, that's what J'onn is for." Kate said and Oliver chuckled.

"Fair enough." Oliver agreed as he hung up and Kate took a deep breath as she prepared to make another call to help with that topic, since she actually wanted J'onn to be the one to do it, in case they needed him to wipe Helena's memory in case things did not go well.


	40. Chapter 40

"I have to say, I was surprised to get your call." Sophie said as she entered Kate's apartment.

"Well, things have become complicated and I needed someone to talk to." Kate said as Sophie took off her coat and took the glass of wine Kate offered her.

"That sounds ominous. What's up?" Sophie asked.

"Where to begin?" Kate asked.

"How about from the beginning? I have a feeling that this is where you tell me whatever it is you haven't told me about you being Batwoman." Sophie asked.

"Not everything. There are some things that you're better off not knowing." Kate said.

"Okay then, why don't you tell me what you think I should know. Starting from the beginning." Sophie said.

"Alice knows who I am." Kate said bluntly.

"Wait what?" Sophie asked.

"She told me a few weeks after I became Batwoman, it's the whole reason I backed off her at first. Well that and she was holding my mom hostage." Kate said.

"Wait, if Alice knows that you're Batwoman, why hasn't she spilled it to every other baddie in this city?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know. A small part of me hopes that it's because somewhere inside that maniac is my sister." Kate said.

"And what reason are you going with realistically?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know, but I know it's not to keep me in check, because if it was, she would've spilled my identity to every lowlife in the city as soon as I put her Arkham." Kate said.

"Great, so that's another thing to worry about. I'll just add that to the list since I learned that you were Batwoman." Sophie said and Kate chuckled.

"Anyways, that's not the real reason I called you." Kate said.

"Really, then why did you call?" Sophie asked her.

"Because earlier today, she actually managed to get me to come down and talk to her in Arkham." Kate said.

"Do I even want to know what she said?" Sophie asked.

"Probably not, but you need to anyway, since if she was telling the truth and this is one case where I think she might be, you need to be on your guard. We all do, since another war is likely coming to Gotham, but this time, it's not between me and my sister." Kate said.

"What do you mean?" Sophie asked.

"Frank Bertinelli is likely on his way back to Gotham right now and I told Helena that the man she's been hunting for years is finally within her grasp." Kate said.

"I thought Helena gave up hunting down the man who is her father only in blood?" Sophie asked.

"No, she lost his trail. There's a very distinct difference. Now that she's finally got a lead on her dad, the hero you've come to see the Huntress as, she's gone and she's been replaced by a person I barely recognize." Kate said.

"How so?" Sophie asked.

"She's still out there right now, beating the crap out of any lowlife she thinks might know where Frank Bertinelli is and I don't even want to think about what she'll do when she finds him." Kate said.

"So, you're worried she'll kill him?" Sophie asked.

"Soph, Frank Bertinelli is Helena's Alice, if anyone understands that kind of hatred it's me, since when I found out that Alice was holding my mother hostage for years, her own mother, I nearly killed her and Helena was the one who talked me down. The thing is, Helena's been doing this a lot longer than I have and I'm worried that even if I can catch up to her, I'll be able to talk her down." Kate said.

"You will Kate." Sophie said.

"I hope so, but at the same time, I'm working on something that hopefully would be able to serve as a good plan b. Only problem is that it may end up causing Helena even more pain and I'm not sure if I have it in me to do that to her, no matter the reason." Kate said.

"Do I even want to know what this plan B is?" Sophie asked.

"Trust me, you don't." Kate said.

"So, tell me again why you called, since I'm still a little unclear." Sophie asked as Kate sighed as she put her glass down.

"I guess I just needed someone to vent to besides Luke, since he knows the whole plan and he's made his views clear." Kate said.

"What he doesn't support?" Sophie asked.

"No he does and he wants me to go through with it, I'm just not sure I can." Kate said.

"You really think that I can give you emotional or philosophical advice?" Sophie asked as she sipped her wine.

"You're better at that stuff than I am." Kate pointed out.

"Fair enough. Well, do you think that the benefits of whatever you're planning outweigh the negatives?" Sophie asked.

"I do or at least, I want to believe it will." Kate said.

"Then there's your answer." Sophie said and Kate smiled at her.

"I have to admit, I have missed our talks." Kate said.

"So have I, but now, can i tell you a little secret." Sophie asked.

"By all means." Kate said.

"When you asked me to come over at this hour, I was kind of hoping you didn't want to talk." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"Well, I never said talking was the only reason I invited you over." Kate said.

"Then why don't we let the fun really get started." Sophie said and Kate smiled at her.

"Why are we still talking?" Kate asked as they kissed.

"God, I'd forgotten how good you are at that." Sophie said to Kate as they laid together in Kate's bed, naked, both of them panting heavily.

"Did you really think that my skills have faded since the last time we did this?" Kate asked as she turned to face Sophie.

"No, but either my memory is hazier than I thought or you've gotten even better and I did not think that was possible." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"Probably both, though mostly the former, since can't really improve what's perfect." Kate said and Sophie laughed.

"I've missed this Kate." Sophie said as she cupped Kate's cheek with her hand.

"What, having sex?" Kate asked.

"No, well yes, but it's not like I haven't had sex since you, but what I mean is that I've missed this, us." Sophie said.

"I'm just glad that there finally is an us again. Just don't blow it again." Kate said.

"I'll try not to." Sophie said with a laugh as they kissed again, but before things could develop any further, Kate's phone rang and they both groaned.

"You'd better get that in case it's an emergency." Sophie said.

"It had better be an emergency for whoever it is that's calling." Kate grumbled as she looked at her phone and saw it was Helena.

"You have five seconds before I put a batarang in you." Kate said.

"Okay, it sounds like I interrupted something good, but Kate, this can't wait." Helena said and now Kate could hear the panic in her voice.

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"I was doing one last patrol before finally turning in for the night when some guy showed up out of nowhere." Helena said.

"What's the big deal about that?" Kate asked.

"Because he was dressed up in a ridiculous costume and had headridges. Sound like anyone you know?" Helena asked as Kate actually sat straight up.

"What did he do?" Kate asked.

"He told me I needed to remember and then he touched my forehead and suddenly, I got a huge headache and a surge of memories of another life." Helena said.

"Okay, meet me at the cave and I'll see if I can help you put the pieces together." Kate said.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that." Helena said as she hung up.

"Everything okay?" Sophie asked.

"Not sure, but Helena has an emergency that can't wait. I promise I'll be back as soon as I can." Kate said as she got out of bed and got dressed.

"You're lucky I know you're Batwoman, otherwise I'd take this personally." Sophie said with a smile.

"Oh don't worry, once I sort this thing out with Helena, I'm gonna punch her. Just promise me you'll still be here when I get back." Kate said.

"Depends on how long you're gone, since I do have work tomorrow." Sophie said and Kate smiled.

"I'll hurry back." Kate said as she kissed Sophie one more time before heading out.


	41. Chapter 41

When Kate arrived at the Batcave, she found Helena waiting there for her.

"About time you got here." Helena said.

"Sorry, I can't control traffic. Now anyways, you mentioned a guy with headridges." Kate said.

"Yeah, you know him?" Helena asked.

"You could say that. Novu, show yourself." Kate shouted.

"I was wondering when I'd get your call Ms. Kane." Mar Novu said as he appeared.

"So you do know this jackass?" Helena asked.

"I do and so does Oliver Queen." Kate said.

"Who I now remember is the Green Arrow and that I probably owe him an apology." Helena said as her memories of the old world kicked in and she remembered how she needed to make things right with Oliver.

"You restored her memories. I was going to do it." Kate said.

"I could not afford to wait. The Huntress is needed to help in the coming fight, which she cannot do if she's a wanted woman again." Novu said.

"What fight. Kate what is he talking about?" Helena asked.

"I'm hoping he's not talking about what I think he's talking about." Kate said, looking at Novu, who simply nodded.

"I'm afraid that Mobius lives, though he is not yet strong enough to breach the barriers between the anti matter universe and this one." Novu said.

"But he will be someday." Kate said and Novu nodded.

"Regrettably, there is nothing I can do to prevent his inevitable escape. All I can do is help to prepare you and the other champions of this world for when it happens." Novu said.

"Do any of the other champions know about this?" Kate asked.

"Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl are all aware. The others will be made aware when the time comes." Novu said.

"I still don't get why you reminded me of who I was." Helena said.

"To be fair, I was going to do it myself, he just beat me to it and surprisingly, Oliver Queen thought it was a good idea too." Kate said.

"He did?" Helena asked.

"Yeah he did. He was hoping that remembering how you felt after your father was killed the first time might help discourage you from going down that same path again." Kate said.

"Guess he still knows me better than I thought, since it worked. I mean don't get me wrong, I still want to take him down, but now I just want to put him in prison, not in the ground." Helena said.

"I restored your memories to ensure that you did not become the criminal you were before. You will be needed to help in the fight that is coming. Besides, the only way that your team could truly keep you in the loop is if you remembered everything." Novu said.

"What does that mean?" Helena asked.

"Luke also knows the truth. He's known from the beginning." Kate said.

"But you didn't loop me in?" Helena asked.

"I was trying to get a hold of Oliver to get his opinion on the topic before I did, since he knew you best in the old reality." Kate explained.

"That's fair." Helena said.

"Since I am no longer needed, I will be going." Novu said.

"Please don't come back until you have no other choice." Kate said and Novu chuckled and nodded before teleporting away.

"I don't like him." Helena said.

"No one on this planet likes him. But he's a necessary ally." Kate said.

"Anyways, I have to admit, the rage I was feeling towards my dad is gone now, probably because I now have memories of him dying already." Helena said.

"It also probably helps that in this reality, you weren't actually raised by him. Instead you were raised by my cousin and became a hero." Kate said.

"Yeah, that definitely helps that I didn't grow up around mobsters. My life was definitely better this time around and I have no intention of giving that up over the piece of trash known as Frank Bertinelli. Though I am going to put him behind bars." Helena said.

"Good. I'm glad that you're actually thinking clearly now instead of being consumed in a murderous rage." Kate said.

"I'm not gonna waste my energy on that. Especially when I finally realize that revenge isn't going to do anything. It's just going to cause more pain." Helena said and Kate nodded in agreement.

"But anyways, after my birth father is dealt with, I'm going to be paying a visit to Star City, since I think I owe Oliver Queen a conversation." Helena said.

"Sounds good. And now that we've settled this." Kate said as she then smacked Helena.

"I'm guessing that was payback for me killing the mood between you and Sophie?" Helena asked as she rubbed her cheek.

"Yeah pretty much." Kate said.

"At least tell me you slept with her before I called." Helena said.

"I did and you're lucky for that otherwise I'd be putting a batarang in you right now." Kate said, though Helena could tell that her cousin was kind of kidding.

"Speaking of Sophie, you gonna bring her into this. Restore her memories too?" Helena asked.

"No. Let's just say that those two Sophies would not mix well." Kate said.

"Fair enough." Helena said.


	42. Chapter 42

When Kate arrived at the Batcave, she found Helena waiting there for her.

"About time you got here." Helena said.

"Sorry, I can't control traffic. Now anyways, you mentioned a guy with headridges." Kate said.

"Yeah, you know him?" Helena asked.

"You could say that. Novu, show yourself." Kate shouted.

"I was wondering when I'd get your call Ms. Kane." Mar Novu said as he appeared.

"So you do know this jackass?" Helena asked.

"I do and so does Oliver Queen." Kate said.

"Who I now remember is the Green Arrow and that I probably owe him an apology." Helena said as her memories of the old world kicked in and she remembered how she needed to make things right with Oliver.

"You restored her memories. I was going to do it." Kate said.

"I could not afford to wait. The Huntress is needed to help in the coming fight, which she cannot do if she's a wanted woman again." Novu said.

"What fight. Kate what is he talking about?" Helena asked.

"I'm hoping he's not talking about what I think he's talking about." Kate said, looking at Novu, who simply nodded.

"I'm afraid that Mobius lives, though he is not yet strong enough to breach the barriers between the anti matter universe and this one." Novu said.

"But he will be someday." Kate said and Novu nodded.

"Regrettably, there is nothing I can do to prevent his inevitable escape. All I can do is help to prepare you and the other champions of this world for when it happens." Novu said.

"Do any of the other champions know about this?" Kate asked.

"Green Arrow, Flash and Supergirl are all aware. The others will be made aware when the time comes." Novu said.

"I still don't get why you reminded me of who I was." Helena said.

"To be fair, I was going to do it myself, he just beat me to it and surprisingly, Oliver Queen thought it was a good idea too." Kate said.

"He did?" Helena asked.

"Yeah he did. He was hoping that remembering how you felt after your father was killed the first time might help discourage you from going down that same path again." Kate said.

"Guess he still knows me better than I thought, since it worked. I mean don't get me wrong, I still want to take him down, but now I just want to put him in prison, not in the ground." Helena said.

"I restored your memories to ensure that you did not become the criminal you were before. You will be needed to help in the fight that is coming. Besides, the only way that your team could truly keep you in the loop is if you remembered everything." Novu said.

"What does that mean?" Helena asked.

"Luke also knows the truth. He's known from the beginning." Kate said.

"But you didn't loop me in?" Helena asked.

"I was trying to get a hold of Oliver to get his opinion on the topic before I did, since he knew you best in the old reality." Kate explained.

"That's fair." Helena said.

"Since I am no longer needed, I will be going." Novu said.

"Please don't come back until you have no other choice." Kate said and Novu chuckled and nodded before teleporting away.

"I don't like him." Helena said.

"No one on this planet likes him. But he's a necessary ally." Kate said.

"Anyways, I have to admit, the rage I was feeling towards my dad is gone now, probably because I now have memories of him dying already." Helena said.

"It also probably helps that in this reality, you weren't actually raised by him. Instead you were raised by my cousin and became a hero." Kate said.

"Yeah, that definitely helps that I didn't grow up around mobsters. My life was definitely better this time around and I have no intention of giving that up over the piece of trash known as Frank Bertinelli. Though I am going to put him behind bars." Helena said.

"Good. I'm glad that you're actually thinking clearly now instead of being consumed in a murderous rage." Kate said.

"I'm not gonna waste my energy on that. Especially when I finally realize that revenge isn't going to do anything. It's just going to cause more pain." Helena said and Kate nodded in agreement.

"But anyways, after my birth father is dealt with, I'm going to be paying a visit to Star City, since I think I owe Oliver Queen a conversation." Helena said.

"Sounds good. And now that we've settled this." Kate said as she then smacked Helena.

"I'm guessing that was payback for me killing the mood between you and Sophie?" Helena asked as she rubbed her cheek.

"Yeah pretty much." Kate said.

"At least tell me you slept with her before I called." Helena said.

"I did and you're lucky for that otherwise I'd be putting a batarang in you right now." Kate said, though Helena could tell that her cousin was kind of kidding.

"Speaking of Sophie, you gonna bring her into this. Restore her memories too?" Helena asked.

"No. Let's just say that those two Sophies would not mix well." Kate said.

"Fair enough." Helena said.


	43. Chapter 43

The following day, Kate was a bit nervous about how Mary would react to the huge bombshell she was about to drop, but at the same time, she knew that she needed to tell her sister the truth, especially since Alice knew her identity, which in turn made Mary a target, the only target that Alice had a chance at hitting, since her father was locked up in prison, her mother was in a rehab facility, Sophie was leader of the Crows and Luke and Helena were both members of her team. Really, Mary was the only soft target Kate had and the only way she'd agree to letting Sophie place some extra protection on her was if she knew the truth. Plus, Kate knew that Mary was not as dumb as she made people think she was, so it was only a matter of time until she discovered her identity for herself, so Kate figured that it would be better if she just tore the bandage off plain and simple.

"Okay Kate, why did you want to see me here?" Mary asked her sister as she entered Kate's office.

"Two reasons. The first one is that I need your official consent before Kane Industries officially acquires Hamilton Dynamics." Kate said, since she was planning on buying Hamilton Dynamics, if only to save it from bankruptcy and not so that she'd have the authority to shut down their bat killing weaponry projects.

"Still can't believe you're doing that after what my mom did." Mary said.

"Your mom is the one who was in the wrong, but all the people who work for her don't deserve to lose their jobs because the company is going under." Kate said.

"You really have changed haven't you Kate? The old you wouldn't have thought twice about something like that." Mary said, a feeling a little guilty that she hadn't.

"Unlike my father, I'm done blaming people for things they have no control over." Kate said.

"I guess that explains why you're not hunting Batwoman like he did." Mary said.

"Well, that's one of the reasons. And that's another reason I asked you to meet me here. There's something important I need to tell you." Kate said, turning off video surveillance in her office as she said that.

"Okay, and what might that be?" Mary asked as Kate looked around before taking a deep breath.

"The main reason I'm not after Batwoman is because I am Batwoman." Kate said and Mary burst out laughing.

"You're Batwoman? You? No offense Kate, but you don't exactly seem like the Lady Crusader." Mary laughed, only to stop short when Kate twisted the container holding her aunt Martha's necklace, revealing the secret entrance to the Batcave.

"You were saying?" Kate asked.

"I take it back." Mary said as she wrapped her head around the bombshell her sister had just dropped on her while walking into the elevator as if she was in a trance.

"No photos or streaming." Kate said and Mary nodded as Kate pressed the button, which led to the door closing and the elevator taking them down to the Batcave.

When they arrived, Mary was in awe as she looked around the Batcave.

"Wow, so this is where you spend your nights?" Mary asked.

"Some of them." Kate said.

"This is incredible." Mary said.

"Yeah, I felt the same way when I first found this place." Kate agreed as she led Mary into the lair.

"So wait, you didn't build this place?" Mary asked.

"Are you kidding, there's too much black. Definitely not my style." Kate said.

"On that we agree." Helena said as she and Luke joined them.

"What is your cousin doing here?" Mary asked.

"I'm the Huntress." Helena said.

"Really. So does everyone in your family operate outside the law in some way?" Mary asked.

"Well my mom doesn't." Kate said.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Mary asked.

"Who do you think started all this? Do you really think it's a coincidence that the Batcave is located underneath former Wayne Tower." Helena said as the pieces fell into place for Mary.

"Wait, Bruce Wayne is Batman." Mary said and Kate nodded.

"Yep. Then he up and left Gotham hanging, so I decided to give it what it needed. A Bat, since let's face it, no matter how good the Crows were, it was the Bat that kept the criminals in line here in Gotham." Kate said.

"But why are you telling me now?" Mary asked.

"Because Kate and I both agreed that if we're going to keep jumping off rooftops and fighting people who want to kill us, it could be useful to have someone with actual medical training down here." Helena said.

"And you want it to be me?" Mary asked.

"We do." Kate said.

"Well they do. I'm on the fence about letting a well known social media influencer know about our secret operation." Luke said.

"And who are you exactly?" Mary asked.

"Lucius Fox's son Luke. He is one of my most trusted allies, but he doesn't exactly like having new people down here. He nearly blew a fuse when I found this place." Kate said.

"Kate and Helena may trust you, but I still think that despite the values you could bring, letting you in here is a mistake." Luke said.

"If we can trust the head of the crows with this, I think we can trust her." Kate said.

"Wait, Sophie knows you're Batwoman?" Mary asked.

"She does. I didn't want my relationship with her to be based on lies, though she actually figured it out herself. In fact, it's why she quit the Crows when she found out the lengths my dad was willing to go to take Helena and I down." Kate said.

"And who else knows about this?" Mary asked.

"Aside from us, there's Sophie, Bruce, Alfred, my mom, Julia Pennyworth and my psycho sister." Kate said.

"Wait, Alice knows that you're Batwoman?" Mary asked.

"Yes and I still do not know why she hasn't exposed it to the whole world. Especially after I put her in Arkham." Kate said.

"Well, let's just be grateful she hasn't, though I'm sure she has a much more sinister plot in mind." Helena said.

"So, you want to join?" Kate asked.

"Absolutely and I promise I won't say a word." Mary said.

"Good, because if you do, well." Kate said, leaving that threat hanging.

"Got it." Mary gulped slightly.


	44. Chapter 44

Kate was surprised when Sophie entered her office the next day, though she immediately smiled when she saw that her girlfriend had brought big belly burger with her.

"Did we have a lunch date?" Kate asked her.

"No, but one of the perks of being the boss of the Crows is that I can surprise my girlfriend with lunch every once and awhile." Sophie said as she placed the bag on Kate's desk.

"Why do I get the feeling that while you definitely came here for a surprise lunch date, it's not the only reason you're here." Kate said.

"Well, since I know that you and Helena have been pretty preoccupied looking into Frank Bertinelli, I thought I'd take a better look at the Lucius Fox case." Sophie said.

"Yeah, I mean, we'd focus on finding whoever did kill Luke's dad if we actually had a lead on it, but the trail's gone cold." Kate said.

"Until now." Sophie said.

"What did you find?" Kate asked.

"One of my many tasks after taking over the Crows is cleaning up the mess left behind by my predecessor. I was going through some old records and I found out something interesting about the Lucius Fox case." Sophie said.

"Okay, don't leave me hanging, what is it?" Kate asked.

"It turns out that after Lucius was murdered, the Crows paid the owner of the Sip and Dash a cleanup fee of 50,000 dollars." Sophie said.

"Sounds more like a coverup if you ask me." Kate said.

"My thoughts exactly. I was hoping that maybe Luke could help me look into this, since I don't know who I can trust in the Crows right now until this is resolved." Sophie said.

"Done, but if you don't mind, I'd like a favor in return." Kate said.

"And that favor would be?" Sophie asked.

"Access to Arkham's phone records, since I'm positive that Alice is the one who brought Frank Bertinelli back to Gotham, I just need to figure out how she got in touch with him." Kate said.

"I'll make it happen." Sophie agreed.

"Thank you." Kate said.

"No problem. By the way, when is your friend Julia arriving?" Sophie asked.

"Well if that's not an entrance line, I don't know what is." Julia Pennyworth said as she entered the office.

"Julia, I have to admit, it's not bad to see you." Kate said.

"I missed you too Kate. And you must be Sophie." Julia said as she held out her hand to Sophie, who shook it.

"How do you know who I am?" Sophie asked.

"We have something in common love. We're both Kate's exes." Julia said.

"Actually, Sophie and I are back together." Kate said.

"Huh, damn it, that means I owe Bruce 10 dollars." Julia said and Kate rolled her eyes.

"Wait, so you two dated?" Sophie asked.

"More like a friend with benefits'' sort of arrangement. Julia was a babysitter Bruce sent to check up on me after I started training." Kate said.

"I see." Sophie said.

"Relax, no need to get jealous love, I'm not the kind of girl who tries to steal someone else's girl. Besides, I was surprised I even got Kate's call, since she hates me." Julia said.

"I was betrayed by you and considering recently what happened at Point Rock had occurred, can you blame me for being angry?" Kate asked.

"Of course not. So anyways, what's going on. You mentioned something about my godfather's death?" Julia asked.

"We recently discovered the detective, district attorney and judge who sentenced the man who supposedly killed Lucius were guilty of corruption, so there's a chance that they got the wrong guy and given what Sophie just told me, the odds of that just went way up." Kate said.

"Bring me up to speed on what you know and I'll see if I can find anything else out." Julia said and Sophie and Kate both nodded their agreement as they began bringing Julia up to speed.


	45. Chapter 45

"So, who's that you've got locked up in your interrogation room and remember, I'm your boss, so don't lie to me." Kate asked Sophie as she walked up to her, though she'd only been at Crows HQ to get the phone records for Arkham Sophie had promised her.

"Just your latest fangirl actually. Ryan Wilder. Apparently Batwoman saved her from some muggers a few weeks ago and since then, she has sort of become a frequent flier here." Sophie said.

"How so?" Kate asked.

"She's become a bit obsessed with finding Batwoman, going so far as to actually inflicting her own brand of justice on lowlifes, which honestly, she should not be doing considering the fact that she has a prison record." Sophie said.

"Yeah, her and half of all of Gotham. What did she do?" Kate asked.

"See for yourself." Sophie said as she handed Kate Ryan's file.

"Says here she was arrested for drug dealing, only to say that it wasn't her, it was her ex-girlfriend. It says that the only reason she pled guilty was to get a shortened sentence for a crime she didn't commit." Kate said, looking at Sophie.

"I admit, not our best moment." Sophie said.

"You're telling me. Let me talk to her." Kate said.

"You can't seriously be asking me to let Batwoman stroll into Crows HQ to speak to a prisoner." Sophie asked.

"I don't mean as Batwoman. Don't get me wrong, she will have a talk with this Ryan girl, but I mean as Kate Kane. I think that maybe I can give her a way to help people without getting arrested." Kate said.

"Okay, see what you can do, since honestly, I'm getting tired of having to arrest her." Sophie said as she let Kate into the interrogation room.

"Well, well, well, what have I done to warrant this kind of punishment?" Ryan Wilder asked as Kate Kane entered the interrogation room.

"You should be a bit more grateful to the person who just convinced Commander Moore to drop the charges against you." Kate said.

"And why would you do that?" Ryan asked.

"Because believe it or not Ryan, I want to help you." Kate said.

"Yeah right, since when do one percenters like you give a damn about people like me?" Ryan asked.

"Because I'm not like other one percenters. I actually care about the everyday people of Gotham. The whole reason I started Gotham Pride Real Estate was to provide affordable housing to the working class." Kate said.

"So what, you want to offer me a place to live for free in some slum? Not interested." Ryan said.

"I was thinking more of a job." Kate said.

"I'm not joining the Crows." Ryan said.

"I'm not asking you too. After the way they treated you, I wouldn't ask you to work for them. Hell, the only reason I bought them was as a favor to my girlfriend after my dad disgraced them." Kate said.

"You're dating Sophie Moore?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, but that's not relevant. What is relevant is that I'm offering you a chance to put your life back together. A job working for Kane Security. While I know time in prison may not be appealing to most employers, I see it as a potential skillset most other people don't have. You can see angles other security agents don't. It's decent pay, part of which will go towards paying rent for an apartment in one of my nicer real estate holdings. Interested?" Kate asked.

"I want a company credit card too. Money isn't exactly something I have a lot of at this point." Ryan said, though Kate could tell she was hooked.

"We'll work something out and you'll also receive full benefits, health insurance, dental coverage." Kate said.

"Okay then, but I have to ask, what's the catch?" Ryan asked.

"No more hunting for Batwoman. If I find out that you've been arrested for it again, this deal goes away." Kate said.

"So you actually hate Batwoman like your dad does." Ryan said.

"On the contrary, I actively support her. But I also know that looking for her is likely to get you killed." Kate said.

"Fine. Deal." Ryan said.

"Come to Kane Tower tomorrow morning for your first day. Don't be late." Kate said and Ryan nodded as Kate left the room, leaving Ryan to wonder how that had just happened.

"So, you think she's going to listen?" Sophie asked Kate.

"Not a chance. Which is why I need you to get me a location on her so that Batwoman can pay her a visit tonight and try to get her to back off or at least find out why she's so obsessed with finding Batwoman, since I've saved countless people as Batwoman, none of them have ever been this obsessed with finding her." Kate said and Sophie nodded in agreement.

"By the way, here are the phone records you asked for." Sophie said as she handed a flashdrive to Kate.

"Thanks." Kate said as she took it before heading out.

"You really think that giving this girl a scared straight talk will work?" Luke asked after Kate had told him and Helena about what was going on.

"I don't know, but I have to try. This girl is going to get herself killed if she keeps going on like this." Kate said, only to hear Helena chuckle.

"Is something funny?" Kate asked.

"Just that this sounds kind of familiar." Helena said.

"How so?" Luke asked.

"Because it sounds like this Ryan Wilder might be Kate's Roy Harper." Helena said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"How do you think Roy became Arsenal? Oliver saved him from being killed by a crazy murderer called the Savior and Roy felt like he had a purpose, which led to him searching for the Hood as Oliver was called back then, which then led to him becoming an informant and eventually one of Oliver's most trusted brothers in arms." Helena said.

"I don't think that things will ever get to that point with this Ryan girl." Kate said and Helena shrugged.

"You never know, but if you are going to do this, I think you should show up in a bit more style than your bike and honestly, there's something down here that's been collecting dust long enough. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised dad didn't take it with him when he left last time." Helena said.

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked, only for Helena to grab the sticky bomb launcher and fired it at a random wall of the Batcave, which to both Kate and Luke's surprise revealed a hidden passage.

"Helena is that what I think it is?" Kate asked as the three of them entered the room to find something that both Kate and Luke had believed was out of Gotham from the moment Kate became Batwoman in both realities.

"Yes Kate, that is my dad's pride and joy and probably the greatest example of Luke's father's genius." Helena said.

"The batmobile. I thought for sure Bruce had taken it with him when he left." Luke said.

"He left the rest of his toys behind, why wouldn't he leave his car?" But more importantly, maybe the current Bat would like to take it for a spin?" Helena asked.

"Absolutely. No offense Luke, but this is way better than a bike." Kate said.

"None taken, I completely agree with you." Luke said as Kate went to suit up before heading towards the Batmobile.

"But first, it might need a slightly new paint job." Kate said and both Luke and Helena knew exactly what she meant. 

"Let's get to work." Luke said.


	46. Chapter 46

That night found Ryan lying inside her van, thinking about the major change that had happened in her life. Hopefully tonight would be her last night living in this van, since she now had a job that guaranteed her a real place to live, which would at the very least would get her parole officer off her back for awhile, but more importantly, she was thinking about the person who'd offered her the job. Kate Kane.

Anyways, Ryan was pulled from her thoughts when she heard something or someone land on her roof.

"Seriously, what sort of person drops down on another person's van, especially when she's trying to sleep." Ryan complained as she got out of the van, only to pause when she saw who it was.

"Never mind." Ryan said as she looked up to see Batwoman.

"I hear you've been looking for me." Batwoman said, making sure her voice modulator was working.

"I was, but my new boss would kill me if she found out I was talking to you." Ryan said.

"I won't tell her if you don't." Batwoman said.

"Fair enough. I didn't think I'd actually get to meet you." Ryan said.

"Well, normally when I save people, they don't make a habit of taking up their own brand of justice. I know you've been trying to get my attention. The only question I have now is why?" Batwoman asked.

"Because you were the first person who's given a damn about me since my mom was killed by Alice's gang. My life had pretty much hit rock bottom. I went to jail for a crime I didn't commit and when I got out, no one would give me the time of day. I was honestly thinking about letting those guys finish me when you saved my life. You made me realize that someone does care about me. You got me off that ledge. I needed to thank you properly." Ryan said.

"Well you have. Now maybe you can focus on your normal life. Stop putting your life in danger and focus on living it." Batwoman said.

"No, I can help you. You're good, but you don't have contacts in the criminal underworld. I do. I can help you get intel that you can use to protect this city." Ryan said.

"No. I don't need you to put yourself in danger like that." Batwoman said.

"But I want to. I want to help you." Ryan said.

"I'll think about it. Until then, keep your head down and try to fly under the radar." Batwoman said as she then proceeded to disappear.

"That was awesome." Ryan said.

"So, you think she'll listen?" Luke asked Kate after she returned to the Batcave.

"I don't know. We'll consider this a test for her. If she actually listens, we'll forget about her and assume that she's moved on with her life, but if she does what I expect and goes along with her idea regardless, then we'll consider bringing her in at least as an informant." Kate said and Luke nodded.

"I think that we might as well start making a suit for her." Helena said.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Anyways, Helena, I've got the call logs from Arkham, think you can use any of these to find Frank?" Kate asked as she pulled up the call logs Sophie had given her.

"If I use our vocal modulation technology to mimic Alice's voice when I find out which number is his, yes." Helena said.

"Good, let's get to work." Kate said.

"So, tell me again why you let me give Kate's girlfriend our unedited phone records. If they find Bertinelli, we're screwed." Mouse asked Alice.

"Actually, it's exactly as I planned." Alice said.

"Wait, what?" Mouse asked.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I had to make sure that word did not reach Bertinelli until after it was too late." Alice said.

"So, what is your plan?" Mouse asked her.

"Frank Bertinelli and his crew were just a scapegoat I could throw to Kate and her friends in order to keep them occupied so that we could really get this book without interference." Alice said.

"You are brilliant. So, are we releasing prisoners now?" Mouse asked.

"No, like I said, I don't want to draw attention to us quite yet. However, I have another option to reach out to. One who I honestly think has been waiting for my call." Alice said.

"Who?" Mouse asked.

"A woman named Safiyah." Alice said with a grin as her plan continued to play out exactly as she wanted it to.


	47. Chapter 47

2 months. The last two months is all Luke could think about and how everything went to hell, first it's Kate's plane crashing then her going missing, next Ryan Wilder took up the mantle of Batwoman, Bruce leaving Gotham to search for his presumed to be deceased son, Dick Grayson, Helena and Sophie is working with Alice to find Kate only for Alice to try to kill her, and Jacob Kane escaped prison. Now Luke was trying to get behind it all by completing his work in the Batcave until a familiar voice called out to him.

"Luke!" The voice said again as he swiftly turned around to see Kate Kane behind him.

"Kate." Luke asked with disbelief in his voice. "You're alive." He said as he rushed to hug her.

"Yeah, I'm alive." Kate said as she hugged him back.

"How?" Luke asked as he finally let go of her.

"That's what I've been asking myself, I've also been asking Why until it hit me. You." Kate said taken Luke back.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked

"I was only on that plane because you pressured me into getting rid of the kryptonite, If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have died!" Kate said before she disappearing and leaving a shocked Luke.

"Looks like someone else is dying because of you." Luke turned around to see his father, Lucius Fox.

"Your Father wasn't enough so now you had to kill your best friend?"

"Dad? No! No! I tried to save you." Luke said as he started thinking about the night his Father died.

"You didn't save me! You killed me!" Lucius said before Luke screamed but when he opened his eyes again, He saw that he was in his bedroom.

**Ryan Wilder's apartment, 1:35 am.**

"Okay, I'm coming." Ryan said as she approached her door that was being knocked on loudly. Ryan opened the door to see Luke standing on the other end.

''Luke, what are you doing here?'' Ryan asked.

"The Batsuit, I need it back." Luke said bluntly, deciding to cut straight to the chase.

"I thought we were pass this.." Ryan said.

"So did I but something inside me doesn't feel right about this, about tarnishing Kate's legacy." He admitted.

"How am I tarnishing Kate's legacy? I am trying to honor her by fighting for Gotham!" Ryan yelled.

"You're not fighting for Gotham. You are fighting for your revenge against Alice that you are willing to kill her!" Luke accused her.

"I would be doing Gotham a favor by killing that crazy bitch! Yes I want vengeance for my Mother but I also want to uphold Batwoman's legacy!"

"You're not Batwoman!" Luke exclaimed.

"Correction, Luke Fox she is most definitely Batwoman." The Monitor said as he made is presence known

"Who the hell are you?" Ryan asked.

"My name is Mar Novu also known as The Monitor."Novu introduced himself to the new hero.

"Glad we got that out of the way, now why are you here?" Luke asked the Cosmic being.

"You think that Ryan Wilder's becoming Batwoman was accidental but I am here to hell you it was not. Ms. Wilder was always meant to become Batwoman but it needed a little push."

"It was you. You blew up Kate's plane?" Luke asked, hoping that his thoughts weren't true.

"That is correct Luke Fox." The Monitor said with no remorse in his tone. "Do not worry. Kate Kane is still alive and you will see her soon but to insure that the Multiverse stays intact this time around, Kate Kane must train with Safiyah Sohail and Ryan Wilder had to take up her mantle." The Monitor quickly explained once he saw the pain in both Gothamites eyes he vanished.

Once The Monitor was gone, Ryan and Luke were sitting in her living room thinking about what the somewhat Deity said.

"The good news is that Kate's alive but.." Ryan trailed off

"We don't know where she is exactly." Luke finished for her. "This all my fault if I didn't push her to get rid of the Kryptonite, Kate would have never set foot on that plane and The Monitor wouldn't have been able to explode it." Luke said as he continued to wallow in self pity.

"After my Mama died, I found every way to blame myself for her death but I soon learned that something's are out of our control but you still have to push through Luke for Kate's sake and I promise you, wherever she is- We will find her and bring her home." Ryan said and Luke nodded before Ryan went over to hug him.

**Coryana**

3 figures clad in dark robes where sparing before One gracefully cut down the other Two. The mysterious Figure was about to end them before Safiyah entered the room, causing them to stop in their act.

"Leave us." Safiyah told the Two that were down quickly left the room.

"Take off that Hood there's no need to conceal your beautiful features." Safiyah told her follower who nodded and pulled her hood down to reveal Kate Kane.

"For someone who has only been here for such a sort time you have come to be one of my most valuable Assassins." Safiyah told her.

"I train hard so I can give my family the harsh and cruel punishment that they deserve." Kate told her Mistress.

"Indeed you will but for now you should rest. Meet me in my bed chambers in 30 minutes." Safiyah said.

"Yes, Queen Safiyah." Kate said as she bowed to the queen before heading to the showers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know most people will be upset with this Chapter but I honestly have loved Javicia Leslie's performance as Ryan Wilder and how she made Batwoman Season 2 lovable for me but don't worry Kate will return as Batwoman soon.


End file.
